Thief Hypnotizing His Victim Before Rummaging Through His Pockets Caught On Camera – See It To Believe It

A robber apparently managed to hypnotize his victim before skillfully rummaging through his pockets and making away with the day’s earnings. The entire bizarre incident happened in the victim’s shop and was caught on camera.

The unbelievable CCTV footage that shows a thief calmly and confidently stealing from an upmarket shop in North London after appearing to hypnotize the shop’s owner has emerged. The surreal video shows the as-yet unidentified thief effortlessly put the owner of the Hop and Pops shop in Highgate, Aftab Haider, 56, into a trance-like stupor. He then dexterously proceeds to rummage through his victim’s pockets, taking out, allegedly, the day’s earnings.

The video begins with a man, clearly visible and identifiable via the CCTV footage, entering the shop and beginning a friendly conversation with Haider. The man, who Haider would later describe as Eastern European, then momentarily places his hand on the shop owner’s shoulder. However, this action doesn’t cause Haider to enter a mannequin like stance. A moment later, the hypnotist thief performs a stabbing action towards Haider’s face, and the CCTV footage suggests the shop-owner was left dazed and motionless.

With Haider rooted to the spot, the thief quickly goes through his victim’s pockets looking for cash and valuables, reported The Independent. Haider later claimed that the thief managed to lay his hands on his entire day’s earnings, “hundreds of pounds,” before making good his exit. Upon realizing what had happened, the shopkeeper did give chase, but the thief had vanished. However, before exiting, the thief taps on Haider’s shoulder, apparently to release him from the stance, reported The Telegraph.

The tactics used by the thief, though bordering fiction, are commonly employed by illusionist Derren Brown. However, Brown is an entertainer and performer, who uses such techniques to confuse his ‘victims’ before removing their personal artifacts, including their ties. But police agree that this is the first instance of using such trickery to perform an actual robbery in London.

Speaking about the case, Detective Sergeant Dave Bullock said,

“The victim remained motionless and unable to stop the robbery taking place. He said that he was momentarily unaware of what had happened to him. The suspect’s distraction tactics appeared to have worked as he robbed the victim of cash from his pocket.”

The police have released a description of the male as being between 30 and 35 years old of Eastern European appearance, around 5ft 8in tall, and slim with short black hair. They are advising people to be wary of strangers getting a little closer than what is considered normal.

[Image Credit | Video Grab]