A man with a black‑belt in Brazilian jiu‑jitsu stepped in at London’s Borough railway station and took a suspected pickpocket down in the middle of a rush hour crowd.
Ivan Skoko, 29, from Croatia, spent the last week as a gold‑medalist at the British Open in the ultra‑heavyweight division. When he heard a woman scream on the Northern line, he rushed off the train, opened the doors, and saw a man holding a phone tightly as he tried to swipe it. Skoko shouted, “Who was it?” The woman pointed to the suspect on the platform.
Within five seconds Skoko was on the suspect’s knee. The man looked up, shaking and saying, “I don’t want to stab you, bro.” Skoko neutralised the threat with a judo foot sweep, preventing the attacker from grabbing a hammer that was found in the thief’s pocket. Police arrived shortly after and took the suspect into custody on charges of attempted theft, possession of an offensive weapon and handling stolen goods.
Video of the encounter, posted by Skoko, shows the suspect lying on the floor under the black‑belt’s knee, two phones in his pocket—including one with a Hello Kitty case—and the hammer. The footage has already gone viral on social media.
Skoko says he’s dealt with armed robbery at the gym where he works and is determined to defend himself and others. “I’ve fought criminals more than ten times, and I never want to leave myself in the hands of the police alone,” he told reporters. “The police said they don’t have enough resources, so I had to get serious about training.”
A British Transport Police spokesperson confirmed that officers responded to Borough Underground station around 7:30 p.m. on October 28 and arrested the suspect after reports of an attempted theft.
The incident highlights the growing trend of bystanders using self‑defence skills to stop crimes in public places. It also reminds passengers to stay alert and help each other keep London’s transport system safe.
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