Drug-fuelled thug tried to rob £5,000 Rolex watch

A COCAINE and vodka-fuelled robber committed a 'campaign' of crime after being offered support when he arrived in the UK on a small boat.

- ANDREW BARDSLEY

Ossama Tagercift, 28, arrived in the country from Algeria in 2022. He was given a place to stay in a hotel while his asylum claim was being processed, but he lost that accommodation after being jailed for burgling a house, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Tagercift then went on to carry out two robberies, an attempted robbery and an attempted theft with accomplices as part of a 'targeted campaign of distraction and diversion ploys, prosecutor Jamie Baxter said.

He and another man tried to steal their victim's £5,000 Rolex watch on one occasion, while on another a man was robbed of a £2,500 chain.

Tagercift has now been jailed for three years and nine months and faces deportation after serving his sentence.