Moment brazen bike thieves armed with angle grinder steal moped in front of shocked shoppers outside Ikea
The moment a gang of thieves armed with angle grinders targeted a moped parked outside the entrance to Ikea has been caught on camera.
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The footage, shot by a bystander outside the Croydon branch of the Swedish home store, shows a group of four individuals dressed in tracksuits loitering beside a cream moped.
Identities hidden by bike helmets, a crowd begins to grow as one of the group produces an angle grinder.
The individual then starts up the saw and attempt to cut through the bike lock latched to the front wheel of the vehicle.
Moments later, sparks begin to fly from the bike chain, with the thieves seemingly unperturbed as multiple onlookers film the thefts.
The footage, uploaded to social media, also shows two high-powered bikes waiting nearby.
One of the group on a bike can be seen circling around, poised to exit the carpark.
The four are then seen to make off with the moped, as exasperated onlookers watch on.
The Met Police have been contacted for comment.
It's the latest in a string of thefts caught on camera, with Officers from Southampton Police captured apprehending a shoplifter with the help of PC Reg Hollis from The Bill.
The officers, from Bargate Neighbourhoods Policing Team, were in the city in the afternoon when they were alerted by staff at Co-op in Ocean Way to a suspected shoplifter, who attempted to make good his escape on a bicycle.
The thief, Mohamed Diallo, fell off the bike during his attempts to flee, before officers pounced to make their arrest.
Diallo, 29, of Anglesea Road in Southampton, appeared in court on Thursday morning, where he pleaded guilty to five shoplifting offences, including the incident involving Mr Stewart.
