Gang distracts and steals £600,000 from Abu Dhabi royals outside St Pancras station

An Algerian gang who came to the UK because ‘that’s where the money is’ stole £600,000 worth of Jewellery from the Abu Dhabi royal family outside St Pancras.

Medhi Fatih, 41, and Abdel Aitkebir, 35, have been jailed for stealing from Roda Al Nahyan, her mother Shamsa, and Najla Al Qubaisi after disembarking the Eurostar for a waiting chauffeur in June 2025.

Before the cases were loaded into the boot, CCTV shows an unidentified man distracting the driver while Aitkebir and Fatih go for the cases, snatch them, and run off.

They stole more than £600,000 worth of goods, with photos of gold jewellery later seen on Fatih’s phone. Aitkebir later admitted to selling the case three days later.

Judge Benedict Kelleher said: ‘It’s clear from the CCTV that you had noticed the vehicle and you got yourselves in position to steal when the family arrived.

‘As they walked through the station it would have been obvious to you they were wealthy. You were clearly targeting them for that reason.

‘This offense clearly involved some planning which included the coordination of seven men and the identification of passengers coming from an international train who had a waiting chauffeur.’

They were caught on the same day a third gang member, Faysal Benoumechiara, 27, was found to have stolen a man’s bag around the station.

Police confiscated his phone and discovered a WhatsApp chat revealing the network of thieves operating in the area and Benoumechiara’s £80,000 stealing spree.

One of the men wrote: ‘Peace be upon you my brothers. I want to tell you something. I did not come here to take tops or I don’t know what. I come here to get the watches and get the money. This country is where the money is.

‘Get yourselves ready my brothers.’ On 9 October, another man messaged the chat: ‘Hello my dear. How are you, Faysal? We will meet later in the afternoon in the field. You know what I mean my dear.’

Benoumechiara went on an £80,000 theft spree between December 2024 and November 2025, stealing bags from luggage racks and passengers in the station car park.

He entered the UK via Spain but illegally overstayed his visa and was first convicted for a theft on 7 December 2024.

A day later on 8 December, Benoumechiara and another unidentified man grabbed two bags and three shopping bags belonging to Caroline Naylor from an overhead luggage rack on a train leaving King’s Cross for Peterborough.

The items – including a Louis Vuitton bag, clothes, and make-up were valued at £60,835.

In January 2025, Benoumechiara was spared prison for the 7 December theft, but he continued his spree until his arrest in November 2025.

On 26 May 2025, travelling through Newark from Morpeth, in Northumberland, to King’s Cross, Benoumechiara swiped a luggage bag and Crocodile skin evening bag, totalling £1,600is.

On 16 August 2025, Benoumechiara and another unidentified man pinched luggage from the boot of a car as she left St Pancras International car park.

The haul included medicine and cash worth £6,292.

A few days later on 21 August 2025, Benoumechiara returned to the same carpark and stole £15,000 worth of luggage from a man as he waited for a taxi.

Benoumechiara was finally caught on 4 November 2025, when he was arrested with other gang members outside King’s Cross after they were seen by police rifling through a luggage bag to see what was inside.

Jailing Benoumechiara for two years and three months Judge Kelleher said: ‘You were operating with others as a professional luggage thief and you were deliberately targeting people identified as having high value goods in their bags.’

Fatih, who entered the UK illegally in July 2025, and Aitkebir, who illegally overstayed a visa from April 2023, were both arrested on the same day as Benoumechiara.

They pleaded guilty to a single count of theft after CCTV showed them lurking around St Pancras station on 16 June 2025, looking for wealthy victims.

Fatih, of no fixed address, was jailed for two years and four months, while Aitkebir, of no fixed address, received two years and six months after submitting a false basis of plea.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@usnewsrank.com.

For more stories like this, check our news page.