An Algerian bag-snatcher who has been deported from the UK three times is facing removal for a fourth time after being jailed for assaulting a police officer at Heathrow Airport. Hakim Benmakhlouf, 28, was sentenced to six months at Isleworth Crown Court after admitting assault and breaching an Asbo and a deportation order.
Benmakhlouf, described by police as 'one of the most skilful' thieves they have ever encountered, has a long history of stealing from tourists at hotels and airports. He was first deported in 2007 after being freed early from a three-year sentence, but returned to London within 24 hours and continued his crime spree.
He was jailed for a further three years in 2008 for theft, and was deported again in 2009 at taxpayers' expense. After a third deportation in January this year, he was spotted at Heathrow last month and injured a police officer who tried to arrest him.
Sentencing him, Judge Andrew McDowall said: 'As you shouldn't be in this country it seems there is little purpose in making your sentence particularly lengthy.' The court heard Benmakhlouf had been given £3,000 by the Government on his first deportation in 2007.
