A gang of six has been convicted of carrying out a spree of luxury watch robberies in Chelsea and Balham after taking pictures of themselves wearing the stolen timepieces.
Flying Squad officers found the pictures, taken with a mobile phone, after arresting two of the gang: Kaijuan Henry and Roshan Clark.
They were associated with two more of the so-called Rolex rippers, Michael Malik Ahmed and Zakariah Yusuf, who were caught running away from a stolen car after a chase by police in January last year.
Two more members of the South London gang, Jessy Ouma and Joseph Opoku, were convicted alongside them for a spate of violent robberies for high value watches in Chelsea and Balham in 2021.
Isleworth Crown Court heard how, on December 21, 2021, three separated incidents were reported in different parts of London.
First, a man was confronted in broad daylight by Mr Henry and Mr Clark in Chelsea. They were armed with a large knife and a crowbar and forced him to give up a £1,500 Tag Heuer watch.
The same two men then threatened another man in Balham with “a large zombie knife”, before punching him in the face and running off with his bag.
That same day, this time after dark in the early evening, they lunged at two men sitting at a pub table in Chelsea, armed with a large knife and a machete, and demanded they hand over their Patek Phillipe and Breguet watches, said to be worth around £35,000 each.
On January 9, 2022, Mr Ouma, Mr Yusuf and Mr Opoku brandished a machete at a couple in Chelsea and stole the woman’s Rolex watch, worth around £6,000, and her Bulgari ring.
Her partner was hit in the face and had his TAG Heuer watch stolen.
The sixth member of the gang, Mr Ahmed, acted as a getaway driver in a stolen car.
All six were found guilty of violent robbery offences by Isleworth Crown Court, and will be sentenced at a later date.
Det Sgt Gary Taylor from the Met Police said his team are pleased that a dangerous gang has been taken off the streets and that London will be safer now that these six men are facing a considerable period behind bars.
He urges anybody who sees a robbery to report it to the police immediately.
“This makes a significant impact on our ability to catch those responsible and prevent them from causing any further harm,” he adds.
