Officers who released footage of a mannequin challenge have made two arrests.

A man was attacked on Fredrick Road, Salford by two men while two other men stood and watched near to the Salford Innovation Forum.

The victim saw the two men get out of a blue Ford Focus prior to the attack and return to the same vehicle after throwing the victim to the ground and stealing his gold-coloured iPhone 5s.

They demanded the password to the phone before driving off.

Around midnight the same day, just five minutes after the first robbery, and around a five-minute drive away from the first robbery, another man was sat at a bus stop on Eccles Old Road, outside the shops near to Salford Royal Hospital, when he was approached by three men.

They grabbed him and dragged him to the floor before taking his Samsung S7 Edge.

Similar to the first robbery, the offenders demanded the password to the phone before getting into a blue Ford Focus and driving away.

Officers launched an investigation and have since established the Ford Focus had been involved in eleven drive-offs from petrol forecourts across the Greater Manchester area, including Swinton and Middleton.

Later that day, officers stopped the car on Deansgate, Manchester City Centre and arrested the 22-year-old driver.

A search of the vehicle found a Samsung S7 Edge, a number of other mobile phones and debit cards. The owners of the phones are yet to be identified but all of the debit cards have been reported as stolen.

An examination of one of the phones revealed footage of two mannequin challenges that happened before and after the robberies took place.

The driver, Roger Bosion (27/11/1996) was bailed until 13 December 2016 pending further enquiries however, he failed to return. A warrant has since been issued for his arrest and police are appealing for help to find him in connection with robbery, theft, handling stolen goods and making off without payment.

Officers have now released the footage on Tuesday 14 March 2017 and today, Thursday 16 March 2017, a 17-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man presented themselves at Pendleton Police Station. They have since been arrested on suspicion of robbery and remain in police custody for questioning.

Detective Constable Jim Harris of GMP’s Salford Borough, said: “We have two people in custody however, our investigation is still ongoing so I’d like to take this opportunity to appeal again to members of the public who know the people in the footage.

“If you know these people or if you have information about where they may be, pick up the phone and let us know.

“I’d also like to appeal directly to Bosion. We are actively searching for you and will follow each line of enquiry that leads us to you. Do the right thing and hand yourself in.”

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