A prolific Algerian thief who stole a £37,000 Patek Phillipe watch from a tourist’s wrist as he left a restaurant in London will serve no extra time behind bars after stealing a City worker’s backpack.
Nineteen-year-old Mohamed Sellaoui wrenched the luxury watch from Jiangfeng Ni’s wrist as he walked out of Langan’s Brasserie on February 26, 2024.
Last week, he was sentenced to 21 months behind bars after being found guilty of robbery and was told he would be deported once he had served the term.
At the time of the offence, he was on bail for thieving a backpack containing valuables worth £2,000 from a diner at the age of 16.
Today, he returned to Southwark Crown Court to be sentenced for stealing a backpack from a worker in the City of London.
The bag contained a work laptop, wallet and cards, cash and other items worth around £1,500, the court was told.
Sellaoui also admitted two counts of fraud by using a stolen bank card and possession of cocaine at Green Park Tube station.
Dwain Coward, prosecuting, said CCTV footage showed the thief grabbing the backpack at the Albion pub in New Bridge Street at around 9.15pm on 11 March 2025.
Professional thief Mohamed Sellaoui, 19, (pictured) will serve no extra time behind bars after stealing a City of London worker’s backpack
Pictured: Sellaoui walking next to Mr Ni before he steals his £37,000 Patek Phillipe watch in Mayfair on February 26, 2024
And only 40 minutes later, he was spotted on CCTV entering a shop in Finsbury Park called Fonthill Market.
The career criminal attempted to buy a banana and drink using one of the stolen bank cards, but the transaction was declined as the card had been cancelled.
He was later stopped and searched by police officers at Green Park station in the early hours of April 26, where he was in possession of a small amount of cocaine.
Sellaoui was then arrested after checks revealed he was wanted for theft.
Judge Gregory Perrins described the Algerian teenager as a ‘professional thief’.
Sentencing, he added: ‘You were with another person who was helping you steal and when you spotted a customer had put their bag on the floor you stole it.
‘You took a number of cards and attempted to use them to buy things for yourself.’
Sellaoui was handed three months for theft, with one month each for the false representation counts.
There was no separate penalty given for possession of cocaine, with each terms to run concurrently.
Dwain Coward, prosecuting, said CCTV footage showed Sellaoui grabbing the backpack at the Albion pub (pictured) in New Bridge Street at around 9.15pm on 11 March 2025
It comes after Mr Ni, who had his luxury watch snatched by the thief told the court he was ‘very nearvous’ when anyone was near him following the incident.
In a victim impact statement. he explained he had purchased the item years ago, as the proseuction said it had ‘changed hie feeling towards London’.
‘He says that it has changed his feelings towards London. He says that now when someone comes close to me, I feel very nervous,’ Lynn Fanshawe, prosecuting, said.
Mr Ni, a chemistry professor at Soochow University, told jurors during a previous trial at the same court that the two men ‘kept pushing’ him into a corner.
Aided by a Chinese interpreter, he explained he was trying to use his right hand to resist the pair.
‘The male on my left started trying to remove my watch from my left wrist. Both were pushing me into the corner and not letting me go away,’ he said.
‘Both of them turned around and started running towards Green Park station, opposite to where I was going.’
Mr Ni said one of the thieves tripped over, adding: ‘The person with my watch fell over… the watch was still in his hand.
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Algerian thief, 19, who swiped £37,000 Patek Phillipe watch will be deported after jail
‘I went to approach them, but when I was bending down the person on my right swung a punch at me.
‘He was waving his fist and making “woo woo” noises.’ The professor added: ‘He was trying to attack me and allow time for his companion to run away.’
When asked how he felt, Mr Ni said: ‘My mind went blank. In my head, I had to ask myself: “What happened?”‘
Sellaoui, aided by an Arabic interpreter, denied the charge of robbery but found guilty by jury following a three-day trial.
Following his trial earlier this year, Judge Perrins had warned the teenager he would be deported once he is released from jail.
