Violent robbers are snatching £1million worth of watches off the wrists of visitors to London‘s West End every month.
There were 97 watch robberies, including attempted thefts, from January to June this year, totalling ‘millions of pounds of stolen property’, the Met Police said.
A further 70 expensive watches were swiped between July and September this year, with a knife ‘seen or intimated’ in 20 per cent of watch robberies in the past six months.
There were also 1,196 general robberies across Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster between January and June 2026.
The figures emerged during the Southwark Crown Court sentencing hearing of Younes Djoudi, Ali Eldahouzze and Abdel El Habchi.
The men took off with Romanian entrepreneur Catalin Botezatu’s diamond-encrusted, £137,000 Richard Mille watch just before midnight on January 28.
A sharp implement was used to cut through the rubber strap of the watch, leaving cuts on Mr Botezatu’s wrists.
The watch, a birthday present some 13 years ago from a friend who has since died, has never been recovered.
Violent robbers are snatching £1million worth of watches off the wrists of visitors to London’s West End every month. (Pictured: Romanian entrepreneur Catalin Botezatu’s diamond-encrusted, £137,000 Richard Mille watch that was stolen by three men in January)
Younes Djoudi, Abdel El Habchi and Ali Eldahouzze (pictured left to right) were jailed for the robbery of the watch at Southwark Crown Court
He was accosted after leaving Latin American restaurant Amazonico in Berkeley Square. The trio were seen on CCTV carrying out a ‘reconnaissance operation’ before the robbery, the court heard yesterday. They then lay in wait.
Mr Botezatu was smoking with a friend near his car when they approached and ‘surrounded’ him before ‘wresting’ the watch from his left wrist.
‘I couldn’t believe that something like this could happen in London, in front of a luxury restaurant where I was a client,’ Mr Botezatu said.
Djoudi, 34, was jailed for five years and nine months, Eldahouzze, 22, was handed three years and six months, and El Habchi, 30, received five years and six months in prison.
Sentencing them, Judge Dafna Spiro said London ought to be a ‘safe city’, adding: ‘We are privileged to attract people such as Catalin Botezatu.’
The sentencing comes as a string of high-profile watch muggings have been reported in London’s West End in recent years.
Gangs of so-called ‘Rolex rippers’ are known target individuals for their high-end watches.
Mr Botezatu’s watch, a birthday present some 13 years ago from a friend who has since died, has never been recovered
Gangs of so-called ‘Rolex rippers’ are known target individuals for their high-end watches (Pictured: police at the Bucherer Rolex Boutique at One Hyde Park on January 20, 2026 following reports a group of men threatened staff)
One of the most high-profile incidents in recent years was the gunpoint robbery of a £70,000 diamond-encrusted watch from boxer Amir Khan, pictured with his wife Faryal Makhdoom
One of the most notable incidents was the gunpoint robbery of a £70,000 diamond-encrusted watch from former world boxing champion Amir Khan, 39.
The Olympic silver medallist was targeted as he and his wife Faryal Makhdoom left the Sahara Grill restaurant in Leyton, East London, on a night in April 2022.
Gunman Dante Campbell was later jailed for seven years and nine months, while getaway driver Ahmed Bana was locked up for nine years and eight months.
Khan’s case was a rare example of the watch eventually being recovered by police, with Khan later thanking the Met for their efforts in returning the timepiece and said he would auction it off for charity.
Another incident saw an illegal Algerian migrant watch ripper target a Tim Hortons boss before his accomplice snatched his £65,000 Patek Philippe timepiece from his wrist on New Bond Street in Mayfair.
CCTV obtained by the Daily Mail showed Axel Schwan courageously giving chase to a thief who brazenly stole the luxe piece from the businessman in June 2024.
Mr Schwan made his way down the road alongside his wife when a member of the watch-ripping trio, which included Ahmed Djidi quietly snuck up behind him and snatched the five-figure watch from his arm.
Met Police spokesman Andy Swindells said: ‘Despite all of our efforts, high value watch robbery remains a problem in the West End, and we average about £1million stolen from the wrists of Londoners and visitors every month.’