THIS is the moment a quick-thinking diner at a cafe stopped a bike-riding phone thief as he fled from one of his victims.
Security footage from the Italia Cafe in Resistencia, the capital of Chaco in north-eastern Argentina, captured the moment a heroic bystander took down a thief.
4
4
4
Two women can be seen seated at a table on the street next to a parked car.
Out of view of the camera, a woman was screaming after a thief had just snatched her phone and fled on a bike.
This is when one of the women jumped into action.
She stood up and grabbed the nearest chair from under the table before hurling it at the cyclist.
Holding it just above chest height, she launched the chair at the thief who passed their table when he tried to flee.
As the chair made contact with his upper body and face, he lost control of the bike and crumpled to the floor, flipping over a couple of times.
The woman barely flinched as staff and other customers at the cafe came out to help detain the phone snatcher.
One man wearing a white apron ran up and kicked the man several times to stop him from running off.
Once the thief stopped struggling and was detained by others, he could be seen sitting on the floor in shock.
According to local news outlet Mascontenidos, he was later identified as Mario César Castillo who allegedly stole the phone from a 24-year-old woman.
The 36-year-old was picked up by a patrol car and taken to the Forensic Medicine Division and the health center to be checked over following the incident.
Castillo was then taken to the 1st Metropolitan Police Station and was handed over to the legal system.
The footage has since gone viral online after the thief received immediate karma in the form of a brave bystander.
PHONE-SNATCHING FEARS
A similar incident was captured outside a pub in Central London last month where a thief was knocked off his bike and tackled to the ground by a pubgoer.
The issue of phone snatching is becoming increasingly common, especially in large cities.
Thieves will often speed past unsuspecting tourists who are on their phones, possibly checking maps, texting, or taking pictures.
They will then snatch the device and flee on bicycles, e-bikes, or mopeds, leaving their victims in a state of shock.
In September, the UK Home Office revealed that over 200 smartphones are snatched every day.
One thug in London stole 28 phones in just one day as crooks adopt sinister new tactics to snatch devices and access cash.
The Government has announced a crackdown on the issue while the Home Office is working with tech firms to find a solution.
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “The Government is determined to do whatever’s necessary to protect people entitled to walk the streets without the threat of robbery.”
4