Thief stuffs 44 phones in his pants Nicking spree at nightclub

Number's up ... the stolen mobiles

A PICKPOCKET was caught leaving a nightclub with 44 mobile phones stuffed down his trousers.

Iulian Cojocaru, 28, was nicked after bosses were told several customers had lost their handsets and arranged for police to search everyone on their way out.

Officers were astonished to find Cojocaru with the huge haul of phones inside a pair of lycra cycling shorts under his baggy trousers.

They included iPhones, Androids and BlackBerry smartphones.

Cojocaru targeted revellers at Manchester’s Warehouse Project, and club director Sacha Lord-Marchionne posted a picture of all the mobiles on Twitter.

He wrote: “Thats all off 1 person...in 1 night...all stashed down his trousers...should have seen his face when we caught him #ByeByePhoneThief!”

Cojocaru, from Dagenham, Essex, was arrested and pleaded guilty to 25 theft charges when he appeared before Trafford Magistrates.

He will be sentenced at crown court later this month — as detectives try to trace his victims.

Det Insp Debbie Oakes, from Greater Manchester Police, commented: “We work closely with the event organisers who will continue to operate a tight security operation where searches take place on entry and exit.”