Six people have been arrested after buyers and sellers arranging transactions online were threatened with knives in four separate incidents across Nottinghamshire.
Cash, motorbikes and electric bikes were stolen, while an attempt was made to take a PlayStation. Police do not believe the incidents, which happened between 21 and 25 October, are linked.
In the first robbery, a victim who had arranged to buy jewellery through social media travelled to a meeting point in Mansfield with cash on Wednesday 21 October.
They were persuaded to get into a car before being forced at knifepoint to hand over thousands of pounds. A 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of robbery on Saturday 24 October.
In Newark on Thursday 22 October, a man was robbed of an off-road motorbike he had advertised on social media.
He had travelled alone that evening to complete the sale when a group arrived, produced a knife and stole the bike.
Four boys, aged 15, 15, 16 and 17, were arrested on suspicion of robbery. The motorbike was recovered and returned to its owner.
Two further incidents took place in Nottingham on Sunday 25 October.
In Wollaton, two teenagers were waiting at a park to sell their electric bikes when a group threatened them with a knife and stole both bikes.
In Basford, a person who had arranged through social media to sell a PlayStation at a park was threatened by someone carrying a knife and ordered to hand over the console.
The owner refused. Police were called and arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of robbery shortly afterwards.
Investigations into the incidents remain ongoing.
Detective Chief Inspector Les Charlton, Nottinghamshire Police’s lead for serious acquisitive crime, urged people to take precautions when meeting someone to buy or sell an item.
Police advise buyers and sellers to bring someone with them, meet in a busy, well-lit public place during daylight hours and avoid inviting strangers to their homes.
They also recommend paying digitally through a bank transaction rather than carrying large amounts of cash, and walking away if someone changes the agreed meeting location at the last minute.
DCI Charlton said: “While robberies of this nature are rare, we have seen some incidents recently, so want to highlight a few measures people can take to avoid being targeted in this manner.”
He said the incidents did not indicate a sudden increase in robbery across Nottinghamshire.
“Hearing about these recent incidents may cause some alarm to the public but, on that, I’d emphasise that we don’t believe any of them to be linked,” he said.
“I’d add as well that there certainly hasn’t been a sudden upturn in offences across our force area, with robbery of personal property incidents actually reducing by 12 per cent in the last month.”
