Is it unlawful to steal from a thief?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Stolen property is owned by its original owner, and the thief should pay it back to the owner. It is impermissible for anyone to steal the stolen property from the thief. Instead, the thief should be advised and admonished to give the stolen property back to the original owner. As for the owner, there is no harm for him to take back his property from the thief, and it is not considered theft, rather, this is recovery of his stolen property and it is permissible in Islam.

Allaah Knows best.