Lucknow, Apr 20 (IANS): The Lucknow police have arrested a young couple that first lured victims to a movie date and then spiked their soft drinks with sedatives.

The couple would rob the victim of valuables and leave them in the hall.

The couple Ankita Katariya, 25, and her husband Amit Kumar, 35, said that they were inspired by a YouTube video.

First, Ankita would befriend a man on Facebook. Then, she would ask him for a movie date in a posh Gomti Nagar shopping mall.

During this movie date, the couple would spike the soft drinks of the target and steal all valuables.

Hridesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (East), said: "Two such cases were reported by two individuals -- the first in January and the other in March. With the help of CCTV footage of the shopping mall and surveillance, the woman was identified. The two were arrested from the Ambedkar crossing in Gomti Nagar with valuables worth Rs 3 lakh."

The two accused have been doing this for the last two years. The woman's husband used to help her in selling the valuables.

"Two FIRs under several sections of IPC have been lodged against them at Gomti Nagar police station and similar cases are being checked in other police stations as well," the DCP added.