Victim spots muggers using Google maps

Dutch twin brothers who mugged a teenager in the northern town of Groningen were arrested after being caught on camera by a car gathering images for Google’s online photo map service, police said.

The pair stole the 14-year-old boy’s mobile phone and 165 euros (230 U.S. dollars) in cash last September.

‘The picture was taken just a moment before the crime,’ a police spokesman said.

In March, the victim recognized himself and the two robbers while surfing Google Maps, which has a ‘Street View’ feature allowing users to see images of buildings. The images are usually taken by a camera mounted on a car.

After an investigation by the police, one of the 24-year-old twins confessed to robbing the boy.