CHENNAI: The city police have arrested two serial robbers who followed the modus operandi of diverting the attention of salespersons at small jewellery stores and stealing the valuables across the city. The police have recovered 18 gold rings from them.

Nungambakkam Police, who were probing a complaint by a jeweller from whose shop a four-gram gold ring was stolen earlier this month, traced the duo with the help of CCTV footage and arrested them. The arrested persons were identified as Imtiyaz Khan (47) of Perambur and Musheer Ahmad (43) of Triplicane.

The police recovered 18 gold rings weighing 54 grams, including the stolen one, along with a two-wheeler used for their operations, from the accused.

Investigations revealed that the duo had adopted the same modus operandi at more than 20 jewellery stores across Chennai and had stolen from shops at Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Ambattur, Kodambakkam, Mylapore, and Villivakkam.

The duo would pose as prospective buyers looking for wedding rings, ask to see multiple designs, pocket an item, and escape quickly, a police officer said.

The duo was produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.