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A 22-year-old man has been arrested after phones went missing en masse at the Arena Birmingham gig on Saturday evening
By Jon Chapple on 20 Nov 2017
The recovered phones
image © West Midlands police
A man has been arrested after 53 mobile phones were stolen at a Royal Blood show at Arena Birmingham on Saturday night.
The phones were recovered by police – who had set up a “proactive” operation at the arena after learning concertgoers had been targeted at previous shows by the band – following the 22-year-old’s arrest.
“It’s unfortunately a reality that large crowds at concerts such as this make rich pickings for career criminals,” says det sgt Jeff Clifford of West Midlands police. “We’re hot on the heels of these offenders, but you can also reduce your chances of falling victim to such crimes by remaining extra vigilant when attending busy events.
“It’s unfortunately a reality that large crowds at concerts make rich pickings for career criminals”
“If you think you had your phone taken, please get in touch with us and we can check whether or not we have been able to recover it.”
A spokesperson for Arena Birmingham, formerly Barclaycard Arena, tells IQ: “We’ve been working closely with West Midlands police regarding the incident on Saturday night, and join them in urging any customers who think they may have had their phone stolen to contact them via 101.”
Police in Germany last August broke up a crime ring responsible for a spate of phone thefts at European festivals.
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