Nights at end of week are bad time to wear a Rolex

CRIMINAL gangs are targeting luxury watch owners on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights between 11pm and 4am, police have said.

Three hundred watches, with an estimated value of £4million, were stolen in six months as part of “organised opportunist” attacks in central London.

The Metropolitan Police recorded 2,000 thefts between April and September 2022 in three London boroughs – Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham.

Soho – an area one hundredth of the size of the three boroughs – accounted for almost a third (31 per cent) of all attacks in the capital during that period.

Gangs with specialist knowledge commonly steal brands such as Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe from “vulnerable” individuals who are out drinking in town or alone. The timepieces can be worth six-figure sums and retain their value, which is why they are sought after by criminals.

Ben Russell, the Met commander for intelligence, said thieves wait for targets to leave bars and clubs and offer them access to sex workers and drugs before taking them down quiet streets and robbing them.

Two Met operations using undercover officers were carried out from

October to December 2022 and March to October 2023 to tackle the issue. They resulted in 27 men being arrested and charged, with 21 convicted. Fourteen have been sentenced to a total of 26 years in prison. More cases are now going through the courts.

CCTV footage provided by the Met shows one of the sting operations, in which criminals are seen approaching and befriending a lone officer before ripping a watch from their wrist. A covert police team then pounces on the criminals, all of whom were arrested.

Describing an operation in Soho on Oct 28 2022, a police source said: “A police officer was approached by a man and asked if he wanted to visit a brothel. He was then taken on a walk through quiet side streets, during which time he was unknowingly being followed by four other men. When the time is right, the men swarm the officer and rob him.”

The same situation unfolds in other clips – one from Greek Street, in Soho, on Nov 4 2022 and another filmed in Broadwick Street, also in Soho, on March 4 2023.

The police operation follows a series of thefts in which high-profile figures were targeted.

Amir Khan, the boxer, and Aled Jones, the broadcaster, had their watches stolen on the streets of the capital in 2022 and 2023 respectively.