Making money by sleight of hand

[LRE]

Making money by sleight of hand



Monday, September 15, 2008
By Salman Aslam

LAHORE

PICKPOCKETS do not eye faces, but wallets and purses. They always go for an easy target - mothers with kids and the middle-aged are the most likely targets.

They vanish after doing the ‘job’, leaving no trace. They are on the lookout for the ‘right’ person and the ‘right’ place to put their ‘skill’ to use.

People mostly fall victim to pickpockets at the Lahore Railway Station, Data Darbar, Lorry Adda, hospitals, bus stands, restaurants, parks, shopping markets and cinema houses. Pickpockets have an ability to ‘sniff’ money and valuables. Among criminals, picking someone’s pocket is considered an easy but a non-violent way to make money. In some cases, pickpockets use uniform to gain a victim’s trust. They may dress up as policemen and become friendly with their prey while an associate performs the ‘trick’. It is very rare for a pickpocket to fight someone as they are usually unarmed. If a pickpocket is caught red-handed, his accomplices immediately arrive at the scene of the crime. They give the pickpocket a light beating and try to persuade the victim into letting the pickpocket go.

Muhammad Haneef, a father of five, recalls how his pocket was picked once. One day, he said, he was late for home and wanted to take a bus to reach his home in Muridke on time. “Suddenly, a pickpocket, who had guessed I was from some other city, bumped into me near Lorry Adda and embraced me after an enthusiastic handshake,” he said. “He pulled me close to him and briefly leaned against me. He then apologized and walked away,” Haneef said, adding he did not realise the man robbed him of Rs 1,100 in cash in his wallet.

In a crowded place, it is usual for people to press into each other, so they do not notice some pressure against their pockets or purses. If a pickpocket is good at his ‘work’, the victim would not feel a thing.

Khawar Shah said he pulled his wallet out of his pocket to pay for a newspaper at the Lahore Railway Station. He said he put his wallet back and turned to leave when someone bumped into him. It was a crowded place and he realised that his wallet was missing but it was too late. He looked back to where he was bumped into, but the culprit had fled.

Aslam Khan, an old man, was shopping for grocery at a bakery in Lytton Road police limits when a youth bumped into him. The old man did not know that his he no more had his wallet. He realised the loss when he searched for his wallet to pay for the grocery.

Many passengers complain about losing their wallets and mobile phones in buses and wagons.

“I found my wallet was missing after I got off the bus at Naulakha. I went to the nearest police station to register my complaint but I was told that it was a normal thing these days,” said Amir, a citizen.

A pickpocket who is very good at his work takes less than a minute to ‘relieve’ people of their valuables. Wallets are not the only things pickpockets are after...they also try to lay their hands on valuables such as jewellery.

Irshad Ahmad Chohan was waiting for a bus at Iqbal Town. Meanwhile, three men riding in a car approached him and asked the location of Raheem Store. They asked him to get in the car, saying they would drop him at Dubai Chowk. Later, Irshad realised that the motorists had robbed him of Rs 45,000 and his cell phone.

Haji Munirul Haq, a retired deputy controller of the Punjab University, was in a wagon when a pickpocket stole 3,000 Riyal from his shalwar pocket.

Rehmat (not his real name), a pickpocket who gave up crime in the early 70s, said that baggie pants that were in fashion in 1970s proved a boon to pickpockets.

“Pickpockets’ hands are as fast as a snake and they bump into someone without letting him know that his pocket have been ‘cleaned’,” he said.

He said that pickpockets never stuck their whole hand into someone’s pocket. Pockets with zippers and buttons had made ‘lifting’ a wallet more difficult, he said. “The only plus side to getting these pockets open is that they are usually bigger than jeans pockets, making the actual dip much easier,” he said. A pickpocket uses a razor if he comes across a pocket he does not think he can pick,” he said. “Razor is the tool to use when all else fails,” he said.

He said that pickpockets just wanted to slit s person’s pocket open and take the wallet, not cut any other part of the pants or kameez. “They hold the razor between their middle and index finger and with one swift movement slit open the bottom of the pocket. The wallet then falls right into their greedy hands,” he said.

“A zipped pocket is no big deal for them as they gently grasp the zipper with their index and thumb and index finger and gently pull back as quickly as possible. After the bag is open, they just dip into it and remove the wallet,” he said.

No less than 366 incidents of pick pocketing were reported in the provincial metropolis from January 1 to September 7, 2008, whereas 334 such incidents took place from January 1 to November 30, 2007.

A police officer said that around 119 incidents of pick pocketing were reported in the City Police Division, 100 in Cantt Police Division, 48 in Civil Lines Police Division, 28 in Sadar Police Division, 37 in Iqbal Town Police Division and 34 in Model Town police Division.

“A stranger that is quick to greet and anxious to get near you can be a pickpocket,” said a police officer. “Try to keep a hand on your belongings when such a person approaches you,” he said. “A theft often starts with a handshake that lasts too long. This allows the thief to get close to you,” he said. “Most people think nothing of it when a person presses or bumps into them. These are in fact lethal tricks used by pickpockets,” he said.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=135907