Three South American thieves who embarked on a ‘sh
Three South American thieves who embarked on a ‘shameful voyage’ to Britain to rob tourists in a carefully orchestrated scam were jailed today for a total of eight-and-a-half years.
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They preyed on swanky hotels in London’s West End by grabbing handbags left at dinner tables.
As guests helped themselves to the buffet, the crooks helped themselves to their booty.
The team of two women and one man had targeted hotels across the continent and are banned from entering some European countries.
‘People like you must be detained from preying upon tourists who come to London,’ said Judge Paul Focke, QC, passing sentence at the Old Bailey.
He caged the scam’s mastermind Jorge Hyichapillan, 49, for four years.
The women – Alejandra Espinoza, 27, and 52-year-old Teresa Pinto-Leyton, the ‘willing participants’ – were jailed for two years and two-and-a-half years respectively.
They arrived from Chile in June last year and took handbags and purses from tourists staying in four-star hotels usually at breakfast time, said Mr Phillip Shorrock, prosecuting.
‘In each case the owner had left their bags while getting something to eat from the breakfast buffet,’ he said.
‘The man would pick up the property and conceal it under a coat used especially for that purpose while the two ladies, ready, willing and able to participate in the enterprise as and when it became necessary.
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In July this year, the gang had also targeted a man who was queuing at a Piccadilly Circus bank.
They followed him to his car and, as the two women distracted their victim, Hyichapillan snatched pnds stlg 3,700 cash from the passenger seat of his car.
The gang were finally snared when the security manager of the Millennium Gloucester hotel recognised the man from an earlier heist.
He was followed to the nearby Forum Hotel where he was arrested.
After being shown clips from spy cameras at some of the hotels, he admitted looting guests’ property and revealed the names of his two partners in crime.
They all admitted conspiring to thieve and he pleaded guilty to two charges of theft though police believe they are responsible for dozens of similar crimes over the last two summers.
Hyichapillan is banned from entering Switzerland and France for carbon copy thefts while Espinoza was expelled from France for her part in the handbag snatches.
Judge Boal told them: ‘Your actions were carefully planned and orchestrated and done very professionally.
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Hyichapillan was given the longer sentence for ‘being in charge of the disgraceful operation’, the judge added.
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