A pickpocket chillingly swiped an unsuspecting woman’s handbag in a shop despite a cop pre-Christmas crackdown.
The victim sat down in the Selfridges waiting to be served.
She had placed her bag on the seat just behind her.
The crook – who blended in and looked like any other shopper – peered around her to see who was watching.
She did the same again looking left and right before moving in and swiping the handbag.
The woman then calmly walks away with it in her hand.
But unbeknown to her it was captured on CCTV in the department store on Oxford Street, central London.
It happened on Saturday (8 Nov) afternoon, as reported on Need To Know.
The brazen theft happened despite extra cops being put on the streets to tackle such crimes.
One source said: “She just took the lady’s handbag.
“It is a real problem in the capital.
“The police have been doing an operation at the weekend in the West End too.”
An extra 100 officers were deployed to the streets to deal with offences like shoplifting and phone theft.
Called Operation Baselife it has started in the run up to the festive season.
Selfridges is one of the busiest shops in the country.
It welcomes about 20 million customers every year.
The Met Police has been approached for comment.
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