Woman, 38, who travelled from Spain to steal £20,000 of handbags from Harrods in five separate raids is jailed

Woman, 38, who travelled from Spain to steal £20,000 of handbags from Harrods in five separate raids is jailed By Frankie Elliott For Mailonline Published: 07:50 EDT, 13 August 2024 | Updated: 07:52 EDT, 13 August 2024 e-mail View comments A woman who travelled from Spain to steal £20,000 worth of handbags from Harrods in five separate raids has been jailed. Margarita Del Carmen Valdes Torres, 38, visited the world famous department store in London on five separate occasions between October and May to steal bags made by luxury brands Hermes, Valentino, Chanel , YSL and Gucci. On October 25, the Spaniard stole a Hermes bag worth £2,120 after arriving in the UK as a tourist.

Three days later, she was spotted on CCTV evading the store's security staff and running off with a £2,400 Valentino bag. After returning home with the two bags, the mother-of-five re-visited Harrods on March 14 to grab a £5,220 Chanel bag, before helping herself to a £2,880 YSL bag two days later. Valdes Torres was eventually spotted on May 10 attempting to steal a Gucci bag and sunglasses worth a total of £6,735.

She was subsequently chased down Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, towards the V&A museum by a security guard and arrested. When police officers searched her handbag, they found an electronic de-tagger and wire cutters. Margarita Del Carmen Valdes Torres, 38, visited the Harrods department store in London (pictured) on five separate occasions between October and May to steal bags Appearing at .