C832 2018 wanted person appeal

Police call for help in £440,000 smash and grab Rolex robbery at Watches of Switzerland

Metropolitan Police detectives in London have released an image of a man wanted in connection with a violent robbery at Watches of Switzerland on Regent Street in 2018.

Metropolitan Police detectives in London have released an image of a man wanted in connection with a violent robbery at Watches of Switzerland on Regent Street in 2018.

On Tuesday, 5 June 2018 at 10:20hrs, police were called to reports of a smash-and-grab robbery at the flagship luxury watch showroom.

A group of six men on three mopeds and a motorbike drove up to the storefront and one moped driver drove through the door to stop them from being closed by security staff.

Three men wearing black crash helmets then entered the store and attacked the display cases with sledgehammers, targeting the ones that contained Rolex watches.

Another three men who remained outside, including one on a high-powered motorbike, were armed with knives to ward off security staff and members of the public.

Five display cabinets were attacked and 30 Rolex watches were stolen, worth £440,000.

The robbers fled with the stolen watches after the internal security smoke alarm was activated. However, a passing police unit saw what was happening and chased after the robbers, who all ran in different directions.

One male was seen to abandon various items including a pair of gloves, a crash helmet and a bag full of 11 Rolex watches. He was detained on Heddon Street.

Police later recovered a further six Rolex watches from an address in Islington, near to where a moped had been abandoned, in total recovering £309,350 of stolen property belonging to Watches of Switzerland.

Officers have recovered 17 out of the 29 watches stolen, worth more than £300,000. However, the damage to the store, including the cabinets destroyed is estimated to be in the region of £100,000.

Detective Sergeant Gary Taylor from the Met’s Central Specialist Crime team, said: “Although one man has already been sentenced to eight-years for this violent robbery, we are still actively pursuing the other suspects involved.

“I have no doubt that someone will definitely recognise the person in the picture we have released and we need to hear from anyone with information that can help us bring this violent robber to justice.”

Anyone with any information that can help identify the suspect is asked to call police via 101 and quote CAD 2179/05JUN18 or Tweet @MetCC.

Information can also be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *