Brussels police arrested a two-person team of 'violent pickpockets' on Friday on the Grand Place. Police officers grew suspicious after witnessing two attempted robberies using the so-called 'football' technique, reported Le Soir.
The common pickpocket technique involves unbalancing the victim in order to steal their wallet, smartphone or jewellery.
Helped by reinforcement, police were able to arrest the duo which had already tackled two tourists. One of the incidents had turned particularly violent, after one tourist was strangled by the pickpockets to ease searching the victims belongings. The two victims attacked were in shock.
The suspects are illegally staying in Belgium and were known to police who arrested them. One of them claimed to be a minor, but this was proved false following a bone examination.
Despite these incidents, pickpocketing is actually decreasing in Belgium. According to Statista, Belgium's office for statistics, pickpocketing peaked in 2021, with roughly 43,100 cases. The number of cases registered with the police in Belgium has decreased to approximately 16,600 cases in 2020.
