Haifa Mokuba, 29, stole a laptop from a trap car in Willesden

Brent & Kilburn Times: Haifa Mokuba was caught on secret camera stealing the carHaifa Mokuba was caught on secret camera stealing the car (Image: Archant)

A thief who became the first person in Brent to be snared by SmartWater technology has been sent to jail.

Haifa Mokuba, 29, from Tottenham, was caught red-handed with a laptop marked with the anti-theft liquid after he stole it from a trap car parked in Willesden.

He was caught on CCTV eyeing up the laptop in the car before stealing it, unaware it had been marked and was under surveillance.

Officers from Brent Police were alerted by a remote activation that the car had been broken into and the laptop had been stole.

He was arrested the following day in Holloway in possession of the laptop.

He admitted theft from a motor vehicle at Hendon Magistrates’ Court last month.

He was jailed for six weeks on April 26.

Brent Police are continuing to roll out the use of SmartWater in its fight against crime.

The liquid is invisible under normal light, but glows brightly under UV light, making it easily identifiable by the police.

No two SmartWater solutions have the same forensic code, meaning that marked items can be traced back to where they came from, provided that the solution applied has been registered with SmartWater.

It also allows the police to link suspects with crime scenes.

Harlesden has witnessed an 86 per cent drop in burglaries and 36 per cent in street robberies since residents were issued with SmartWater kits.

Detective Sergeant Madeline Ryder from Brent Priority Crime Unit said: “This is another excellent example of the thorough work completed by Brent Officers. “Using the SmartWater trap car technology, we were able to charge Mokuba and put him before the courts within 24 hours of his arrest.

“The SmartWater trap car is a valuable and effective weapon in the armoury of tools that we routinely use in Brent and we will continue to target those who are insistent on committing these types of offence”.