Police extract stolen mobile from woman's posterior

Another body cavity blagger cuffed

Just what is it about Romanian women and mobes mobile phones? Back in April, we reported on the sticky case of 34-year-old Ruxandra Gardian who attempted to make good her escape with a phone concealed in her vagina.

Unfortunately for her, quick-thinking cops simply rang the thing and the game was up. We suggested at the time that perhaps turning it off was a good plan, but as several readers pointed out, that would have then required the PIN to reactivate the phone.

Fair enough, put it on vibrate then. Forget it, suggested several female readers, for obvious reasons.

So, what's the solution? We honestly don't know, but we do know that sticking a (k)nicked mobile where the sun really doesn't shine is not it. And here's why:

Petronela Brandus, 24, has become the latest "body cavity phone blagger" to have her collar felt after police stopped the suspected thief as she got off a bus in Iasi. Passengers had apparently seen the 24-year-old lift the device, but cops could find no trace of it.

In the time-honoured fashion, they then rang the number and heard the tell-tale sound of internal phone action. In this case, however, Brandus had not gone for the relatively-simple vaginal option, but rather the less convenient back passage route.

It did her no good. Back at the station, a strip search quickly retrieved the offending item. Officer Madalin Taranu told local daily 7 Plus: "We've had people hiding things in their bras and knickers before, but this was a new one."

One question remains: what then happened to the phone? In contrast to the case of Ruxandra Gardian - and indeed that of the Jamaican fellow mobile-tamponer who started this intimate criminal trend - its owner subsequently accepted it back.

Officer Taranu explained: "The station doctor extracted the phone and we sprayed it with disinfectant." We should hope so too. ®