WATCH | Three thieves and a baby: Woman uses child as decoy to steal cellphone

A gang of three people, including a woman carrying a baby, is stealing cellphones and other valuables in Bedfordview, east of Johannesburg.

In video footage sent to TimesLIVE, the woman can be seen carrying a baby and standing behind a man identified as Peter Faucitt, the co-owner of RegimA Zone, a skin treatment centre.

Faucitt is seen getting up from a chair and looking away. The woman then walks closer to the table where his cellphone is placed, before grabbing it and walking away.

Faucitt's wife Jacqui said the woman was in the company of two men. One of the men was waiting in a getaway vehicle. She said the man distracted her husband, giving the woman an opportunity to steal the cellphone.

“These people seem to be doing this in the area. The woman entered our premises under the pretence of wanting to get her nails done. The man she was with asked Peter about getting rid of a scar,” she said.

She said both the woman and the man did not look like thieves. “They are both well dressed and the woman has nice pink nails that look like they have been done professionally ... You would never say they look like they could steal anything.”

“It’s a new Samsung S9 Note that was stolen," added Faucitt.

A product search shows that the S9 ranges in value from R14,589 to R25,000, depending on the seller.

The police were not immediately available for comment.