LUXE-WATCH HEISTS

Feds: Duo snatched $2M in timepieces

Two suspects have been nabbed in a months-long robbery spree that netted more than $2 million in luxury watches from such makers as Rolex, Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe, Manhattan federal prosecutors said Monday.

Some of the timepieces ripped off by Victor Rivera, 30, and Johan Araujo, 40, are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars each, the feds said.

The pair is accused of 11 robberies or attempted robberies in New York City, New Jersey and Long Island, Manhattan US Attorney Audrey

Strauss and Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced.

In a January 2020 heist, Rivera robbed a jeweler in Rego Park, Queens, of a Richard Mille watch worth more than $500,000, prosecutors alleged.

Rivera drew a handgun on several victims, and on June 11, 2020, shot a person in a Brooklyn robbery, they charged.

In that heist, Rivera and Araujo allegedly lifted a Richard Mille worth more than $148,000.

Rivera stole more than $2 million in merchandise, and Araujo helped him in robberies that netted them more than $400,000 worth of goods, according to the feds.

Rivera, who was previously charged in a separate case and is currently locked up, faces life in prison for his use of a gun.

Araujo faces a maximum of 80 years behind bars.

Strauss praised the work of her office and the NYPD for bringing the charges against the suspects.

“Thanks to the outstanding work of the NYPD and special agents of our office, time ran out on the defendants, who now face federal charges for their alleged crimes,” Strauss said.