Central Detectives in plainclothes working a detail connected to the rash of armed robberies recognized a silver Lincoln sedan with three men inside.
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Officers pulled the vehicle over at 17th and Locust around 7 p.m. and arrests were made without incident.
Detectives recognized the Lincoln, which they believe was stolen, from a December 7 armed robbery just off Rittenhouse Square on Mozart Place.
Sources say investigators think nine recent gunpoint robberies committed across Center City could be connected.
"Obviously there's not a lot I can share. We're still pretty early in our investigation, but having three people in custody that we know are linked to at least two very dangerous robberies, it brings a little bit of solace," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
In one case, a groom was robbed of his Rolex outside of his wedding reception last Saturday night.
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Action News obtained surveillance video of possibly the same crew robbing a group of people at 18th and Cuthbert of $37,000 in watches.
The robberies happened in late September and early October, then stopped - only to begin again in early December.
Wednesday night around 6:15 the crew possibly hit again this time in the 1300 block of South 19th Street in South Philadelphia.
SEE ALSO: Philadelphia police investigate string of armed robberies across Center City
Police investigate string of armed robberies across Center City
They held a couple at gunpoint and robbed a man of his watch. In that case, the couple said the suspects were driving a Subaru.
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Forty-five minutes later the plainclothes detail in Rittenhouse Square saw the familiar Lincoln and it appeared the occupants were circling the area. They pulled it over and sources say while police approached, one of the men inside put a watch under the seat.
Police believe after robbing the victims in South Philadelphia on Wednesday night they switched vehicles and may have been searching for more victims.
The victims from the Wednesday evening case in South Philadelphia positively identified the suspects, according to police.