The extent of London’s multi million-dollar watch theft industry has been revealed, with more than 6,000 luxury watches stolen last year and £139 million worth since 2018.
A total of 6,109 watches were reported as stolen to Metropolitan Police in 2022, the highest number across the UK, data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) by Watchfinder & Co has revealed.
Almost 600 watches were recorded stolen in December alone. The watches had an average value of £5,188.88 each.
Victims report being violently attacked, or run over by thieves on mopeds or threatened with weapons such as knives and machetes. Attacks are increasingly unfolding in broad daylight in front of throngs of helpless onlookers in busy areas such as Mayfair and Westminster.
On one occasion, a man befriended his victim over more than two hours while drinking at a pub before throttling him on a deserted side-street and leaving him unconscious.
Watch thefts in London accounted for 41 per cent of cases nationwide last year.
But the crime has been increasing nationwide following a dip in 2020 and 2021, during the Covid pandemic.
Data from 23 British police forces revealed that 15,058 watches were reported as stolen across the UK in 2022.
More than 100,000 have been stolen across the UK since 2015 and four in 10 Britons have been victims of the crime, Watchfinder & Co found.
The nature of the crimes are becoming increasingly violent and brazen, with victims being threatened with machetes and knives during the daytime.
A London father told the Standard how he was left shaken and injured after being attacked by two men on mopeds in Mayfair who demanded he hand over his £70,000 watch.
The man, who the Standard agreed not to name, said he was targeted while having a drink with his wife on Queen Street ahead of a Coldplay concert last August.
“I knew they were after my [£70,000] watch so I ran up Curzon Street and they ran me over with the moped and were brandishing the machete saying ‘Give me your watch’,” he told the Standard.
He managed to escape into a nearby Tesco with his watch intact, but not without being hit with a moped three times and by an oncoming car as he ran onto the road.
In one elaborate ploy, a thief befriended a man over drinks and spent the evening with him before putting him in a chokehold and leaving him unconscious in a surprise and brutal attack caught on CCTV.
Lindell Angell was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison in January for stealing the man’s £145,000 watch near Embankment station.
In February a group of teenagers armed with knives and machetes were convicted for stealing luxury watches and jewellery in a string of terrifying street muggings in Chelsea and Balham. On one occasion, the group targeted two men sitting at a pub table and demanded they hand over their watches worth around £35,000 each.
The Met Police’s Flying Squad captured two of the robbers, Kaijuan Henry, 19, and Roshan Clark, 18, thanks to celebratory pictures of them posing with the stolen watches.
They, alongside Jessy Ouma, 18, and Joseph Opoku, 19, have all been convicted over the robberies which happened in December 2021 and January last year, and await sentencing at Isleworth crown court.
Metropolitan Police said tackling robbery was “an absolutely priority” and officers are carrying out targeted patrols in hotspots across London.
It is important that victims and witnesses contact the police by dialling 999 as soon as a robbery has occurred, the Met said.
“When out and about, it is important that people remain vigilant and aware of their surroundings.
“The Met’s Look Up, Look Out campaign encourages members of the public to pay attention to who is around them, keep valuables out of sight, and where possible plan their route before travelling.”
