Three men have been jailed after targeting victims for their expensive watches in London's Rolex Ripper crime wave.
They struck in upmarket areas of the British capital, including one attack outside a Rolls-Royce showroom in Stratton Street, Mayfair.
Metropolitan Police detectives used CCTV to identify the trio of violent repeat offenders who carried out two robberies on consecutive days.
They discovered the men had been carrying out surveillance on their victims before pouncing. In a well-honed tactic, spotters identify a likely victim wearing a watch worth stealing in a public area, follow them and call in accomplices on scooters or a car to carry out the theft.
In this case, victim Michail Rivas was surrounded by the men, with their faces covered, who jumped out of a white BMW and grabbed his Mido Baroncelli Moonphase Chronograph watch worth £1,000.
The robbers, Tedros Haile, Mahad Jammeh and Christian Whittingham, carried out another attack later the same night, targeting Mark Jackson and Oliver Wragg in nearby Brewer Street, Soho.
The victims were wearing short-sleeved tops, which put their expensive watches on show. Mr Jackson was hit on the head with a hard object then punched several times. His £600 Audermars Piguet replica watch was taken.
At Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir said the men “were clearly looking to identify members of the public wearing valuable wrist watches”.
The number of watches stolen in England and Wales almost doubled to 11,035 a year between 2015 and 2022, according to figures from Watchfinder UK, in a surge that became known as the Rolex Ripper crime wave.
London is the centre, with a 56 per cent rise in thefts and 6,000 watches stolen last year alone.
International business executives have voiced concern about visiting even the most high-end parts of the city for fear their expensive watches will be stolen.
Last year, the jailing of Algerian watch thieves exposed a crime network operating from North Africa to the UK to carry out the lucrative robberies.
Using background details provided by the Met Police about the Algerian-led gang, court documents and coverage of their trial, as well as speaking to experts, The National pieced together how they went about their work and how the booming market in stolen watches drew them to the streets of London.
The Met has been trying to curb the robberies by targeting hotspots with increased patrols.
In a statement about the recent attacks, the force said: “Three victims across Stratton Street and Brewer Street were threatened with violence as they tried to prevent the robbers from making off with their high-value watches – two of which were stolen.”
It said the offenders were arrested on July 30 and clothing worn at the time of the offences was recovered, linking them to the crimes.
Det Insp Lizzie Beeston, who led the Met’s investigation, said tackling violent crime was a priority for the police force.
“Every robbery has a significant impact on the victim. This is a violent crime that leaves a significant, lasting effect on the victim,” she added.
Haile, 35, of Hammersmith, was jailed for 11 years after admitting one robbery and being found guilty of one robbery and one attempted robbery. Mahad Jammeh, 24, of Enfield, was sentenced to eight years and Christian Whittingham, 27, of Uxbridge, received 10 years and six months for the same offences.
