Pick-pocket gang henchman jailed

Nastos helped run the UK pick-pocket operation for his wife's family

The henchman of a female pick-pocket ring which targeted Tube passengers for more than two years has been sentenced to four years.

Apostolos Nastos, 45, provided the women with lodgings, paid their fines and organised flights out of the UK to help them avoid court.

The court heard he made £100,000 a year from the racket and Tube thefts fell by 21% a month after his arrest.

Nastos, from Wood Green, north London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal.

The ring also operated in Chesterfield, Southend, Worthing, Mansfield and Cumbria, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Family of pickpockets

Jurors heard how Nastos married into a Bulgarian family of pick-pockets in 2001 and helped run their UK operation.

The judge said Nastos was "not the number one, the Mr Big", and did not use any form of coercion.

However he did play a senior role in a countrywide conspiracy which was "dedicated to stealing from the public".

The judge told the court: "He played a vital role, in my judgment, as a senior manager in a sophisticated and successful pick-pocketing conspiracy for more than two years which was carried out in London and elsewhere in the UK."

He added: "It is not often that the court gets to sentence someone relatively high up in the chain of command of these organised pick-pocketing enterprises."

A confiscation hearing will also be held at a later date.