CCTV of Taisto Makela walking back from station

A MAN who was mugged after he says he was marked with a white ice cream-like substance and followed to where he was staying says he was the victim of a professional scam.

Two weeks ago, Taisto Makela visited King’s Cross from Colorado and was at the doorstep of his friend’s house in Argyle Square when his bag containing 1,000 Euros was stolen by four thieves.

Speaking to the New Journal, Mr Makela said: “They were so slick, I’m pretty sure they were marking me all the way from the station, following me. When I took off my coat later the substance was fairly hard to get off – I sniffed it and it wasn’t like pigeon poop, it was sort of sweet smelling like candy.

“These guys were full-on professionals. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. I was targeted. I think it was because of what I was wearing, I had my Tumi suitcase and some beautiful cowboy boots on and my black hat. They caught me off guard. It was obviously a scam.

“I think you feel violated, like a burglar in your private realm, and I felt like a bit of a chump, thinking why hadn’t I been paying better attention?”

CCTV footage from nearby hotels shows that while Mr Makela was distracted giving directions to someone who he believes may have been involved – two of the thieves carry away his bag to a nearby construction site.

The bag was recovered and the laptop and passports were untouched, but the cash was gone.

The incident was reported to the police but the investigation has gone cold.

Bill Reed, who chairs the Friends of Argyle Square and hosted Mr Makela, said: “In St Pancras, someone put a dollop of ice cream on his back, and that marked him.

Having seen it from a number of perspectives on the CCTV, you can see that it is very professional, and they know what they’re doing.

“The CCTV from the Portakabins is crucial but it’s controlled by a third party. If we’re putting up with this total loss of privacy from all these cameras then when something goes wrong, a crime for instance, they should liaise with the police and hand over the footage to help solve it.

“There is relevant CCTV footage taken just a few feet away from where the incident was happening, but how do you expect the police to solve crimes when they are completely under-resourced?”

Argyle Square is made up of mostly hotels aside from Mr Reed’s property.

He added: “The police presence in this area is completely hopeless.

“The square is also the problem. It used to be full of families and office workers and used to feel safe, but now you can’t use the square anymore. It’s a complete no-go area for normal people or families or children. The drunks have dogs with big teeth that aren’t great for children, there are parties and anti-social behaviour all the time – it’s totally neglected.”

At the end of August, while waiting for a 214 bus towards Camden late at night after getting off the Eurostar, Hero Granger-Taylor experienced a similar incident.

Distracted by someone asking for directions, her backpack containing a hard drive was taken from the bus shelter.

She said: “I thought maybe there would be CCTV but the police told me it was very blurry and that they couldn’t do anything. It was a public space and thankfully there wasn’t any violence so I just felt as one often does – how stupid of me.

“One thing the police could do is put notices in the bus shelter saying thieves are operating in the area.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We’re committed to ensuring Argyle Square remains a safe and inclusive space for all. We will soon begin a full site refurbishment the Gardens through our Green Space Investment Programme, including up­grades to the basketball court, to help make the space more welcoming and better used by the community. We work closely with the police to keep Camden residents safe.

“We encourage residents to report any non-emergency anti-social behaviour via our online tool or by calling 0207 974 4444 so we can take action.”

Superintendent Matt Cox, neighbourhood policing chief said: “We are working hard to drive down theft and robbery, and we’re having success, with neighbourhood crime in the borough reduced by 24 per cent.

“Robbery is down by 29 per cent and theft by 27.5 per cent compared to the previous year, and we are arresting and charging more offenders as part of our initiative to tackle crime in the local community.”