Hong Kong police have arrested two men in connection with the HK$4 million (US$512,820) theft of two luxury Swiss watches in a deal at a bogus repair shop.

Police said on Saturday that they received a report from two mainland Chinese watch merchants that two Patek Philippe and Richard Mille watches had been stolen from them during a transaction on Monday in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Chief Inspector Li Ki-chun of Yau Tsim police district said officers arrested two suspects – the alleged mastermind and a driver linked to the case – on Friday after reviewing surveillance footage and conducting an in-depth investigation.

“Police discovered the syndicate involved in this case had set up a fake premium watch repair service centre in Tsim Sha Tsui,” Li said.

The merchants had intended to sell two timepieces worth more than HK$4 million and brought the goods to the “shop” to make the deal, Inspector So Sin-yi said.

So said the mastermind, who served the two men in the shop on Monday evening, first handed over a large bag of cash to the victims, before putting their watches in a safe and then claiming he had to retrieve tools from another room.