Veteran pickpocket didn’t want to ‘ waste his talent’

A veteran pickpocket caught nicking an iPhone ripe for the picking told subway police that passing it up would have been a “waste of his talent.”

The victim, surnamed Yu, was passing through a metro turnstile in the city of Wuhan when her phone was pickpocketed on August 16.

Yu reported the theft to subway police.

Security footage shows the thief swipe the iPhone – which was sticking halfway out of Yu’s right pocket – in a lightning- fast move that took all of 2 seconds to execute, said Wuhan Metro Police captain Zhang Peng.

Police identified the suspect as 56- year- old surnamed Li of Qiaokou, said police.

A veteran pickpocket, Li had been arrested four times since 2013 for theft on Wuhan’s subways, Zhang added.

Li was taken into custody on August 18 after an overnight stakeout of his home.

At first Li denied the accusations, but admitted to the theft when confronted with the video footage.

“I actually wasn’t planning on stealing that day,” Li told police.

But Yu’s iPhone, which surveillance footage shows as half- stuffed in her pocket, was apparently too good of an opportunity for Liu to pass him by.

“When I saw [ Yu’s] phone was half sticking out of her pocket, I’d have been wasting my talent if I didn’t take it,” Li added.