Kent Police said in a statement: "Kent Police, in partnership with officers from the Metropolitan Police Service, have today arrested two men in east London on suspicion of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
"On May 3, Kent Police began a search for Michael Wheatley, who had failed to return to HMP Standford Hill after being released on temporary licence.
"At 2pm on May 7, two men, aged 55 and 53, were arrested in the Tower Hamlets area and are now in police custody. The 55-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of being unlawfully at large."
DCI Ann Lisseman from Kent Police said: "We are no longer looking for Michael Wheatley. We would like to thank our colleagues at Metropolitan Police Service, Surrey Police, and the public for their assistance with our enquiries."
Michael Wheatley aka the Skull Cracker
(01 of07)
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ichael Wheatley AKA Skull Cracker arriving at South East Surrey Magistrates Court in Red Hill today. Michael Wheatley was arrested Wednesday in East London after a four day man hunt after he failed to return to prison whilst on day release. (credit:National News)
(02 of07)
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Michael ‘Skull Cracker’ Wheatley has finally been captured. The 55-year-old fugitive was arrested after four days on the run after he absconded from HMP Standford Hill after being released on temporary licence. Kent Police confirmed that two men, aged 55 and 53 were arrested on suspicion to commit armed robbery, at an address in East London by Met Police officers. Wheatley was also arrested on suspicion of being unlawfully at large. DCI Ann Lisseman from Kent Police said: “We are no longer looking for Michael Wheatley. (credit:SWNS)
Michael Wheatley(03 of07)
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Police outside a branch of the Chelsea Building Society in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey which was robbed today, Police are investigating whether armed robber Michael Wheatley also known as the "Skull Cracker" has struck again. (credit:PA)
Michael Wheatley missing(04 of07)
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Police outside a branch of the Chelsea Building Society in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey which was robbed today, Police are investigating whether a fugitive armed robber known as the "Skull Cracker" has struck again. (credit:PA)
Michael Wheatley - Bank robber(05 of07)
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Undated handout photo issued by Kent Police of violent armed robber Michael Wheatley, dubbed the "Skull Cracker", who went missing after temporarily being allowed out of jail, has been seen in south west London, Scotland Yard said. Police said they were called to an address in Twickenham last night following a sighting of the 55-year-old, who was given 13 life sentences in 2002 for a series of brutal raids on banks, but he was not found. See PA story POLICE Skullcracker. Photo credit should read: Kent Police/PA Wire (credit:Kent Police/PA Wire)
Michael Wheatley missing(06 of07)
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Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police in 2002 of Michael Wheatley performing an armed raid, as Wheatley, dubbed the "Skull Cracker", who went missing after temporarily being allowed out of jail, has been seen in south west London, Scotland Yard said. (credit:PA)
Michael Wheatley - Bank robber(07 of07)
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EDITORIAL USE ONLY : Metropolitan Police handout issued Tuesday October 1, 2002, of Michael Wheatley performing an armed raid. A dangerous armed robber dubbed the Skull Cracker, * ...Wheatley will learn at the Old Bailey in London today if he is to spend life behind bars when he is sentenced for 13 raids on building societies and banks over 10 months. He earned his nickname after pistol-whipping victims and was described in court as a "career" criminal. (credit:PA)
Jodie Aston, 30, who works in a hair and beauty salon just yards from the building society, said police officers told her they knew who the suspect was.
She told the Press Association: "They came in and said the man that robbed the bank was the man that escaped from the open prison and it happened at 10.20am.
"We heard nothing until someone came in and told us. It's quite scary to think we were so close. It could have been in here."
Barmaid Chloe Theobald, 26, said she was alerted to the incident when she was having lunch with her manager.
She said: "The police said to my boss 'We think it's the Skull Cracker and he's been sighted in Sunbury'. It's quite scary. It's not something that happens every day that there's a man on the loose.
Wheatley, who was given 13 life sentences at the Old Bailey in 2002, earned his notorious nickname after pistol-whipping victims - including a 73-year-old woman - during the raids.
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The location of the prison and the apparent robbery
Prosecutors said he returned to a life of crime after a relationship with a woman he met while in custody turned sour, and she spent his money and ran up debt.
At the Old Bailey hearing, lawyers revealed that when asked his occupation by a custody officer, he replied: "Armed robber."
The 55-year-old raided 13 building societies and banks over 10 months in 2001 and 2002 while on parole from a 27-year sentence for other robberies.
Wheatley admitted 13 charges of robbery and 13 of possessing an imitation firearm - a blank firing semi-automatic pistol - in October 2002. He is one of more than 1,200 open prison inmates serving an indeterminate sentence.
He had gone on the run twice in the past and each time staged a series of violent robberies before being caught and re-jailed.