Hunt for handbag ‘thief’ after model says she DID report Birkin theft

The hunt for a mystery female handbag ‘thief’ continues after an influencer had her brand new £10,000 Hermès Birkin bag allegedly stolen from a boutique changing room.

Police today admitted they did get a report at the time of the theft – just 24 hours after insisting they had no knowledge of the crime until video footage was posted on social media. 

Model Janice Joostema posted CCTV of what appears to show her designer handbag being snatched while getting undressed in a VIP changing room at Manière De Voir on Oxford Street, central London.

The influencer – who described herself a ‘Birkin mommy’ to her 1.3million Instagram followers – lost her red Hermes JPG Shoulder Birkin, which is valued at more than £10,000. 

Ms Joostema told MailOnline she had reported the incident immediately afterwards, but the Met insisted they had no record of it until video footage was shared on social media.

However the force today admitted they did respond to the theft and spoke to the model at the time – contrary to their earlier insistence they knew nothing about it. 

Ms Joostema said: ‘We called the police immediately after, and then they gave me the number for the Canadian embassy as well. 

‘Several of the staff ran out after her and lost her, but people who work in the area said they are speaking to their bosses about getting more CCTV from the streets as well. The police are still investigating further.’

The influencer has now said she wants to ‘move on’ from the theft, but admitted on social media she has been left ‘so sad’ that she ‘isn’t a Birkin mommy anymore’. 

It is unclear how the thief was able to enter the room without Ms Joostema noticing – and why the ‘VIP dressing room’ was left unlocked. 

After the influencer’s video went viral, she has now told her followers she simply wants to ‘move on’ – just 24 hours after asking them for help in finding the thief and her missing bag.

It comes amid a terrifying spate of designer handbag thefts, with burglars targeting £600,000 worth of products from two showrooms in London just three weeks apart.

Earlier this week Ms Joostema posted footage showing the alleged thief, dressed in a long white coat, walking around the high-end shop before opening and poking her head through the door of the room in which the model was trying on clothes.

Moments later, she is seen brazenly fully opening the door to the changing room, walking in and returning with the distinctive red handbag.

Ms Joostema claims that she had her back turned because the windows looked out onto Oxford Street and she was putting a top on, adding: ‘She probably even saw me topless coming into the room and snatching it.’

It is not known why the door to the changing room was left unlocked – the store has been contacted for comment. 

In the clip, the alleged thief’s own bag got caught on the door handle, leaving her stuck trying to free herself for several seconds. 

She eventually raced down the stairs and fled the building with the coveted purse, which wealthy bag aficionados clamour to buy.

Ms Joostema can then be seen walking in and out of the changing room several times, seemingly trying to work out what had happened. 

She then runs out of the room and peers down the staircase. The CCTV footage then ends. 

Posting the video to Instagram, Ms Joostema said she saw the woman poke her head round the door but assumed she was ‘looking for the bathroom’.

She made claims that the woman is ‘known to rob lots of people… in Marble Arch area’ and responded to one wellwisher and said the woman was part of a ‘gang’.

But given police officers were not informed about the theft at the time, it is unknown how Ms Joostema was informed of this or if these claims are true. 

According to the Met Police, Ms Joostema did not report the theft, and instead officers contacted her on Instagram after the video went viral. It is not known if she responded to their enquiries, but she later told followers officers had ‘all the information’. 

After first posting the footage of the theft, she told her followers she had ‘a migraine from crying so hard’. 

Just 24 hours later, she told her followers: ‘I have been asked by several news outlets to provide CCTV footage and statements to take this further. However, I have made the decision to try and move on.’

Ms Joostema added she felt ‘violated and scared’ but was grateful to be ‘unharmed’, continuing: ‘It’s not worth it to put ourselves at risk trying to catch these people’.

She also advised followers not to carry expensive items around London. 

Made from materials like crocodile and alligator skins, as wells as luxe leathers with luxury names like Tadelakt and Monsieur Grainee, Birkin bags take a minimum of 18 hours to hand craft. 

The influencer previously issued a stark warning to Londoners as she shared the shocking footage.

She wrote: ‘Londoners beware. Thieves are coming into dressing rooms when they see you turned, they are watching you while you are changing and naked just to steal your belongings. 

‘My brand new Hermes shoulder Birkin I had less than a week was stolen while I was turned around in this room changing into a top, I was facing away from the door as the room is all windows. 

‘She poked her head in twice, I was naive and thought maybe she was innocently looking for the bathroom or something.’

Ms Joostema said she was ‘unharmed’ but that her passport was stolen at ‘the hands of this selfish individual’. She was forced to cancel her holiday to Switzerland.

The model added: ‘To work so hard for something and it be taken like this, is gut wrenching, for someone to purchase such items is a big deal, it’s not something small, and I don’t want to be materialistic but it’s the human morals and principle of the value of money and that cuts deep for someone who’s always dreamt of having an Hermès bag and it being taken like this. 

‘I believe everything happens for a reason but it’s really sad to know people exist in the world committing such acts of crime against other humans.’

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘On Tuesday, 17 December, following circulation of a video of the incident, officers contacted the victim of a theft that happened inside a shop in Oxford Street.

‘No arrests have been made at this stage. This matter is under investigation.’

It comes just two weeks after two masked robbers broke into a designer showroom and walked out with ‘thousands of pounds’ worth of luxury handbags during what the owner believes was a ‘targeted’ four-minute heist.

Evey Amery, a luxury consignment seller, was left feeling ‘sick’ and ‘horrified’ after discovering her north London showroom had been stripped of expensive pre-loved Chanel, Hermes and Dior bags in an ‘aggressive’ late night raid on December 3.

Her robbery comes just three weeks after three men stole £500,000 worth of luxury stock from a handbag shop called Sellier in Belgravia.

Police were not treating the robberies as linked but word has spread across the industry, with shops now on guard in the run-up to Christmas as the black market is in full swing. 

Ms Amery, who has owned her business Eveyspreloved since 2021, found it deeply ‘upsetting’ to watch the CCTV of the robbery, but was thankful that she was not inside at the time.

In exclusive footage obtained by MailOnline, two masked robbers were seen attempting to break into the showroom at 10.40pm.

The black-clad robbers, carrying bags and tools with them, were seen violently trying to kick the door down. But when they couldn’t break through the door with their body weight, they use what appears to be a crowbar or a similar tool to pry the door open.

Less than four minutes later, they reappear on CCTV, walking out with duffle bags stuffed with ‘dozens and dozens’ of pre-loved designer bags, including several from luxury brand Chanel. Cartier watches were also allegedly stolen in the shock heist.

That robbery came after three men stole £500,000 worth of designer goods from another luxury consignment shop in a raid that took just under four minutes again last month.

Luxury consignment has gained significant popularity in recent years. It allows buyers to get hold of second-hand luxury items for a cheaper price.

Shocking footage shows the trio dressed in black smashing through the front window and stealing the luxury items inside the Sellier store on November 13.

In the CCTV footage, two of the men could be seen breaking into the store before they began taking as much as they could.

They stuffed clothes and other luxurious items into duffle bags before quickly exiting the shop.

Blood was found at the scene by police officers who arrived just five minutes after the break-in happened at 1.50am on November 13.

The raided shop in upmarket Belgravia sells pre-loved luxury items and among the stolen items were six luxury bags that could be worth a combined £40,000.

This included four Chanel bags, a Hermes Kelly 35 and a Hermes Birkin that is currently selling for £14,000 online.

The third man waited outside the door on a motorbike acting their escape route as they rode off with the stolen goods.