A moped gang which uses acid and swords to steal mobile phones for pedestrians have revealed how they pick their victims in an explosive BBC documentary.
Hiding behind fearsome masks, the criminals brag about the ease of stealing £700 iPhones from oblivious commuters, comparing to it ‘stealing candy from a baby’.
During a fascinating glimpse inside the gangs which have taken over London’s streets, the criminals reveal what makes certain people ‘easy pickings’.
One gangster, calling himself Mr X, takes BBC reporter Livvy Haydock for a ride on the back of his moped and points out how the gangs choose who to attack.
Moped gangster TopKat poses on his scooter with BBC reporter Livvy Haydock, who was given an all-access look into how the gangs operate
Hiding behind fearsome masks, the criminals brag about the ease of stealing £700 iPhones from oblivious commuters, comparing to it ‘stealing candy from a baby’
Describing his life of crime as ‘easy money’, gangster TopKat boasts of ‘loving’ the thrill of stealing phones and selling them on for massive amounts of cash
Wearing a ghoulish mask, TopKat reveals that he has sprayed acid in two peoples faces, blaming them for getting ‘in his way’
‘We are looking for people that are looking down got their phones out with their headphones in, in particular,’ he said.
‘Anything that’s not securely wrapped around someone’s shoulder or someone’s back, it’s very easy for us to snatch and take it
‘As soon as it is green, they are unaware to any vehicles coming and for us that is the perfect opportunity because as they’re crossing we time it and then we’ll grab whatever we can grab and off we go.
‘By the time we realise we’re already at the second traffic light and we are going right. There’s a little estate around the corner.
‘All this area here is well known to me so I know exactly where I’m going.’
Topkat (pictured) opens up about throwing acid in the face of two people in order to snatch phones, before selling them off for up to £250 a piece
TopKat boasts of owning ‘bats, knives, swords’, which he claims he will use on pedestrians in the street or during high-value jewellery raids in Mayfair
Moped crimes on the rise in London with up to 54 robberies a day
Moped gangs are robbing 54 times a day across London and are even holding training sessions on how to snatch phones before they hit the streets.
Shocking new figures show police are facing unprecedented numbers of organised scooter crimes with incidents up a staggering 1766 per cent since 2014.
During the first half of 2017, there were 8,192 crimes involving scooters – almost as many recorded in 2016.
Up to 50,000 offences a year are being committed by thieves on scooters and mopeds in the capital, while some teenage thieves are being arrested up to 80 times but not sent to jail.
During the first half of 2017, there were 8,192 crimes involving scooters – almost as many recorded in 2016
Most of the muggings are committed by gangs on stolen vehicles and officers have seen a spike in moped thefts which has rocketed by 41 per cent in the last 12 months.
Now police are warning it is dangerous to get your phone out in public and they are advising pedestrians to use hands free headsets instead to deter criminals.
Scotland Yard superintendent Mark Payne claimed that moped muggers are snatching 20 phones an hour.
The robbers, who usually operate with a pillion passenger, are capable of recognising a mobile phone in a target’s pocket from 100 feet away.
In one scene, the BBC reporter is taken on a ride by the moped gang, which points out which victims are easiest to target, notably those waiting to cross the road
Another gangster, called Topkat, opens up about throwing acid in the face of two people in order to snatch phones, before selling them off for up to £250 a piece.
He boasts of owning ‘bats, knives, swords’, which he claims he will use on pedestrians in the street or during high-value jewellery raids in Mayfair.
When asked if he has used acid, he says: ‘A couple of times. Sprayed it in his face just bleeding like, he’s burning. Man’s shouting and screaming.’
‘If I had my knife on me one of us would have ended up dead, you get me?’
‘Actually don’t make me feel too good obviously, but man’s not doing it to intentionally hurt them innit.
Gangster TopKat sells his stolen iPhones to a buyer (right), who plans to send them over to Nigeria where they cannot be traced and attract a higher selling price
During a fascinating glimpse inside the gangs which have taken over London’s streets, the criminals reveal what makes certain people ‘easy pickings’
‘I’m just doing it so they get out the way innit so they don’t resist so I can just get my things.’
‘I like this stuff, get me? It’s easy, get me man, get paid, get me my money. I love it.’
In another interview, Mr X reveals that he has stolen hundreds of mobile phones over a seven-year period.
The 21-year-old, from Islington, north London, said: ‘It’s like stealing candy from a baby. In 15 to 20 seconds I could get like two or three phones.’
During a ride down one of his favourite hunting spots, Upper Street in Islington, he reveals how pedestrians at crossings and bus stops are among the easiest to target.
He added: ‘Traffic is not a problem, red light, not a problem, speed camera I don’t give a s**t. I am getting away that’s it.’
When asked if TopKat has used acid, he says: ‘A couple of times. Sprayed it in his face just bleeding like, he’s burning. Man’s shouting and screaming’
Scotland Yard superintendent Mark Payne has claimed that moped muggers are snatching 20 phones an hour
When asked if people are ‘stupid’ to walk around with their phones out, Mr X replied: ‘Of course, you’re asking for it, in my opinion.
I just saw a woman just now crossing the road with her phone, looking down. That’s not normal. You’re crossing the road, you should have all eyes on the road.
‘There’s no rules or regulations to this game. If I have to ill go down a no entry road. Any conditions, it doesn’t matter; rain, shine, green, red, no entry, no right turn, it’s ours for the taking.
‘Even if I have to drive on the pavement I’ll go on the pavement.’
- Inside Britain’s Moped Crime Gangs is available on iPlayer
UberEats driver who was targeted in a horrific acid attack
An UberEats driver attacked with acid demanded a crackdown on the horrific assaults as he revealed he has been left too scared to leave the house alone.
Jabed Hussain, 32, said he was on his way home in east London when a man on a moped pulled up next to him at the traffic lights and doused him with acid.
The liquid was so potent it burnt through his helmet and hoodie, but he was miraculously saved from serious injury by his headgear.
He told MailOnline that he is still haunted at night by flashbacks of the horrific attack and does not know if he will ever get on a moped again.
Jabed Hussain, 32, said he was on his way home in east London when a man on a moped doused him with acid (shown right, water is poured down his body)
The father-of-one spoke out as he led a protest of several hundred UberEats and deliveroo drivers who rallied outside Parliament to demand tougher sentences for those behind the recent spate of acid and knife attacks on moped drivers.
He said: ‘I have been working for deliveroo for four years but I might be too scared to ever get on a bike again after the attack.
‘I am too scared to go out without my friends I get scared at night if somebody knocks on my door. I’m scared I will be targeted again.
‘And my family tell me not to go out. They don’t want me to drive again. I don’t know what I’ll do for a living now.
‘But I’m a lucky one. It was my face – if that had hit my face it would be melted. How could I cover that up?’
The liquid was so potent it burnt through his helmet and hoodie, but he was miraculously saved from serious injury by his headgear
He said that while the Prime Minister sleeps at night thousands of drivers are risking their lives running the gauntlet of London’s streets just to deliver food.
Some parts of north and east London have become no-go zones with drivers refusing to deliver orders after 8pm because they are so scared of attack.
He said the government must step up to the plate and put real resources behind tackling the growing problem.
Assaults using acid have more than doubled in England since 2012 – up from 183 five years ago to 504 in the year to March 2017. The majority have been in east London.
There were more than 1,800 reports of acid used in murders, robberies and rapes since 2010.
Last year acid was used in 454 crimes, up from 261 the previous year, with almost a third of the attacks carried out in the borough of Newham in east London, the figures show.