Algerian Migrant Who Stole Rolex and £40,000 Birkin Bag at Heathrow Could Remain in Britain Following a Surprise Legal Twist

An Algerian man who entered the UK illegally and was jailed for stealing luxury items worth £40,000 from Heathrow Airport may avoid deportation because of the effect it could have on his wife and two British children.

Seddik Belmadani, who is in his mid-thirties, was facing removal to Algeria after stealing a Birkin handbag containing a Rolex watch and other valuable belongings from a woman at Heathrow Airport.

The items were worth about £40,000, but they also had strong sentimental value because they had been given to the victim by her mother and aunt.

Belmadani pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in February 2023. The sentencing judge placed the crime in the most serious category because of the high value of the stolen items and the effect on the victim.

The judge also said passengers at airports can be vulnerable because they may be tired, distracted or nervous while travelling.

The prison sentence started the deportation process. However, the Upper Tribunal has now ruled that legal mistakes were made when his appeal against deportation was first considered.

The tribunal said the impact of deportation on his wife and children had not been properly examined. As a result, the previous decision has been cancelled and the case must be heard again.

The tribunal heard that Belmadani secretly entered the UK in July 2017 and met his future wife in December of that year. He married Samaira Bouraya in 2019.

Ms Bouraya is a qualified chartered surveyor and holds Italian and Moroccan citizenship. She has lived legally in the UK since 2016. The couple have two British children, one born in 2021 and the other born this year.

Belmadani already had two earlier theft convictions from July 2017 and January 2018. An assessment carried out in 2023 found that he did not accept responsibility for his latest crime and described it as an escalation from his previous offences.

Officials assessed his risk of committing another non-violent offence as medium.

Belmadani was released from prison on licence in April 2024 and later found full-time work as a chef. His wife also recently started a new full-time job.

He told the tribunal that he had stopped associating with the people who involved him in criminal activity. During his appeal, he said he was extremely sorry for what he had done and had worked to improve himself while in prison.

In 2024, the Home Office decided that deporting him would not be an unfair interference with his family life. He challenged that decision at the First-tier Tribunal in 2025, but his appeal was dismissed.

However, the Upper Tribunal found that the earlier tribunal had failed to properly consider the best interests of his child, the effect of separating him from his wife and his wife’s pregnancy at the time.

Ms Bouraya had told the tribunal that she needed her husband’s support more than ever while she was pregnant with their second child.

Upper Tribunal Judge Elizabeth Ruddick said several important issues had not been considered correctly. These included the interests of the children, the effect of deportation on Belmadani’s wife, his period of lawful residence and the fact that his wife was pregnant and needed his support.

The judge said the case had been affected by unfairness and ordered it to be heard again in full. This means Belmadani will remain in the UK for now until a fresh decision is made.

The case comes after another Algerian man, 32-year-old Bilal Arbaoui, was jailed for helping steal a suitcase containing more than £100,000 worth of jewellery from a passenger at St Pancras station.

The victim, Jumama Zaida, had arrived from Paris with three suitcases, including a gold Rimowa case. While she waited outside for an Uber, one member of the gang distracted her and Arbaoui took the suitcase.

The case contained Van Cleef & Arpels jewellery that she had spent 17 years saving to buy. CCTV showed Arbaoui wheeling the suitcase away, and he was sentenced to 22 months in prison.

Other travellers targeted in similar thefts have reportedly included members of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family, who lost jewellery worth £600,000, and Brittny Button, the wife of former racing driver Jenson Button.

Another Algerian man, asylum seeker Karime Boudina, was jailed for 32 months this summer after stealing luggage from travellers at Heathrow Airport and a coffee shop in Paddington. The court heard that he had used 21 different names since arriving in Britain in 2010.