Police believe alleged theft of large sum of cash is ‘very elaborate and very well practised stage act or parlour trick’

Police are hunting a man captured on CCTV seemingly using an elaborate form of distraction to steal a large sum of cash – sending a shopkeeper into an apparent trance as he openly rifled through his pockets.

The officer leading the hunt for the alleged robber said he did not think the victim, the owner of an off-licence in Highgate, north London, had been properly hypnotised, describing it as a “very well practised stage act or parlour trick”. DCI Marco Bardetti said, nonetheless, he had not seen anything like it in 20 years of policing.

“The suspect looks as though he’s incredibly slick at doing this and he’s very confident in doing it,” Bardetti said. “We believe he’s gone in and practised this before.”

CCTV footage shows the robber, described by police as in his 30s and possibly eastern European, enter the shop and engage the owner, Aftab Haider, 56, in rapid conversation, standing very close to him and touching him.

The footage shows the robber gently touching Haider several times, on the stomach and shoulder, with the victim seeming unable to move.

The man is seen going through the shopowner’s trouser pockets twice as he speaks to him, removing a wallet and then a large bundle of cash, believed to be shop takings. As the man leaves, the shopowner apparently emerges from a trance-like state. While Haider shouted, “Oi, oi, excuse me,” after the man, the robber had quickly left the shop.

Bardetti said the alleged robber had entered the shop on the evening of 11 September and begun by talking about a pregnant woman, making gestures around his belly to indicate pregnancy.

He said: “The suspect touches the victim in parts of his body while talking to him face to face and then we see the victim motionless, standing still, and the suspect puts his hand into the victim’s pockets and removes the wallet and takes what looks like notes or cash out of the wallet. He put those notes and cash into his pocket and then puts the wallet back into the victim’s pocket.”

Haider was unable to explain what had happened, the officer said: “What he can’t account for, is the period of seconds from where the suspect has taken [items] from the pocket of the victim but he’s fully conscious of what is happening around him.”

Bardetti said: “We don’t believe its hypnosis, we’ve consulted on this and we believe it to be a very elaborate and very well practised stage act or parlour trick.” He said that in 20 years of police work, 17 as a detective, he had not seen a similar crime.

Haider had shown no after effects, he added: “The victim is OK, he’s a smashing guy, it’s obviously very brave in coming forward.”

A friend of the shopkeeper said he was aghast at what had happened. He told the Evening Standard: “When he told me what happened I just thought, how could he have just let someone hug him and start going through his pockets? He said he just suddenly realised the man had stolen from him and ran out of the shop to find him but he got away.

“He had hundreds of pounds stolen from him. It’s worrying if people can do that, other people might do the same.”

Police have described the suspect as possibly eastern European, 30-35, slim and about 5ft 8ins tall. He was wearing dark jeans, a grey polo shirt and a black bomber jacket.