A thief appears to have hypnotised a shopkeeper before robbing him.
This CCTV shows the man enter an off-licence in North London and touch the shopkeeper on the stomach - ostensibly trying to communicate that his wife was pregnant and he needed a bottle of water for her.
But the victim "remained motionless and was unable to resist" as the man went through his pockets, the Metropolitan Police said.
The man goes through the victim's pockets
Hypnotherapist Jack Raymond told The Evening Standard: “There no doubt he is a very slick, competent and practiced hypnotist.
“This is someone who could have learnt it from a book or on the internet but he would have practiced considerably. He would have done this before. It could have taken him weeks but likely months to perfect. It takes some people many years.”
The robbery took place at around 9.45pm on September 11 this year.
Police said the suspect was 30-35 years old, "of Eastern European appearance", around 5ft 8ins tall, of slim build, with short black hair, wearing dark jeans, a grey polo shirt, a black bomber jacket with small white writing on the back just below the collar.
Detective Sergeant Dave Bullock said: “The victim in this incident 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."