Four British tourists have been arrested for allegedly robbing an American lawyer at gunpoint for his luxury Audemars Piguet watch.

Hussain Meer, 26, Mir Wayne Carew, 25, Yanne Sarkawt, 25, and Malique Kai Walters, 27, were allegedly seen on dashcam video knocking Ibrahim Iyun to the ground before emerging from an SUV in Phuket, Thailand.

They then allegedly pointed a gun and knife at the terrified victim and then ripped the gold 75,000 USD timepiece from his wrist before speeding away on Thursday afternoon.

Officers detained the four holidaymakers later that evening. They believe they were professional watch thieves who targeted Ibrahim after spotting him in the upmarket holiday destination.

Police Major General Sinlert Sukum, commander of the Phuket Provincial Police, said: ‘As of now, there are four suspects. We are interrogating them to determine whether other persons were involved.

‘They arrived in Thailand at different times as tourists. We are investigating their movements and have already located all vehicles used in the crime as well as other evidence.

‘They were charged with jointly committing robbery. We are currently checking their backgrounds. So far, we have not found any similar incidents committed by them in other areas.

‘All four of them are from the same country, but they did not confirm whether they knew each other before coming here or if they only met in Thailand.'

The American tourist, a lawyer based in Geneva, Switzerland, said he was riding home after shopping at the Boat Avenue mall when he was mugged.

He said: 'These criminals have done this before, it's not their first time. To be able to track me in the low season where everywhere is empty and to finally find the best moment to attack me in the most vicious way.

'In Europe or other countries, if they attack you to take something or steal from you, they might show a knife in the street to take something, but here they rammed into my motorbike just like a move and then once I was on the ground they took out a knife and a gun to attack me.

‘I had never seen any one of these people before in my life. This just comes to show that foreigners who are criminals should not be welcome in Thailand.

‘I think that, if I were to give a recommendation to the government, it would be that... the government said during Covid that 'we want to attract quality tourists. We want to attract tourists who add value to Thailand'.

'And here we see that unfortunately these foreigners come to Thailand to attack Thai people, to attack the tourists, and to ruin the reputation of Thailand, but Thai people are stronger than this.'

The lawyer added he was grateful for the 'swift and efficient' response after police managed to arrest the suspect and return his stolen watch within a day.

Authorities believe the British suspects were seasoned robbers as they were able to choose a relatively secluded place on the island to carry out the brazen attack, which was captured on dashcam footage.

The shocking video shows a blue Ford Everest ramming Ibrahim's motorcycle, sending him sprawling on the wet pavement. Two men then emerged from the SUV and forced the expensive accessory of his wrist while threatening him with a gun and a knife.

Onlooker Somphum Nopwankaew, who was driving behind the SUV, said: 'The victim ran up to me. I said I had footage of the entire incident, and he told me what was going on. I helped him as much as I could and took him to the police station.

'I saw both a gun and a knife used to threaten him. It was the first time I'd seen such an attack. I was left shaking too.'

Officers from the Sakhu and Thalang district stations later discovered the Ford Everest abandoned at a rubber plantation. Security footage from the area reportedly showed a white car then collecting the suspects.

Police said they were investigating if other individuals were involved in the robbery.

The once-pristine island of Phuket has been marred by over-tourism as the Thai government implements a visa-free scheme to boost revenue following the barren pandemic years.

Angry locals claim the push for tourist dollars has attracted crowds of 'low-quality' visitors from Russia, India and Australia. There are also fears that the island has become an enclave of criminal activity, with police unable to control street fights and more organised ruffians setting up rackets among local businesses.