"Rolex Ripper" Gang Arrested 10 Minutes After Stealing Luxury Watches in London

LONDON - A thief specializing in luxury watches in London was arrested shortly after the act, with the moment when two thieves were on the streets of the British capital captured on a security camera.

Footage released by the Metropolitan Police shows two criminals approaching the couple after seeing the man's watch worth 18,000 pounds ($25,000).

The thieves began a planned distraction technique by asking the couple to light their cigarettes.

With his partner busy, one of the thieves then tried to snatch the watch from the man's wrist.

The thief then appears to continue to distract by playing around and wrapping his leg around the man's body, but then he uses this as a lever to give more power to remove the watch.

Well, that didn’t last long… ⏱️

Officers swooped in immediately following a late-night street robbery.

"Officers arrested the suspects within ten minutes, and the watch was returned to its owner. pic.twitter.com/LMjkAZd5yT

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 26, 2026

A group of four men standing nearby seemed unaware of what was going on, but security staff at the venue realised what was happening and acted quickly.

Police immediately arrived at the scene and within 10 minutes the two perpetrators were arrested.

"Hey, you're arrested for robbery, okay?" a voice of an officer is heard saying to a cornered robber, launching The National (31/5).

"The reason is that you have been identified by security officers as the perpetrator of the watch robbery."

The robber protested, "Which security officer, not me!" but he was led away in handcuffs.

Meanwhile, his accomplices were told by another officer, "you have just been identified as a man who has just stolen a watch" before saying to his colleagues, "good work, guys."

Police did not disclose details about what punishment the robbers received or where and when the incident occurred.

A series of street robberies in London involving the "Rolex Ripper" gang targeting people wearing expensive watches or holding phones in recent years.