Two jailed for pickpocketing in Bruges and Brussels

A court in Bruges has sentenced two men to prison for pickpocketing as part of an effort to crack down on the crime, whose targets are mainly foreign tourists.

A 49-year-old Romanian man was given two years in prison and his 44-year-old accomplice was given an 18-month sentence for charges of theft, computer fraud and gang-related offences.

Both pickpockets were active in Bruges and Brussels, suspected to have made purchases totalling almost €3,700 using the stolen bank cards of two victims, including a PlayStation which the primary suspect gave to his accomplice as a reward.

The pair were caught and identified thanks to surveillance footage. A third person is suspected of helping them, but no arrests have yet been made in that regard.

Both of the arrested pickpockets had an otherwise clean criminal record, which was taken into account when determining the sentence.