A nine-month undercover operation by London’s Metropolitan Police has resulted in 31 arrests and 27 profitable prosecutions in opposition to criminals who stole luxurious watches from West Finish hotspots.
The officers investigated the place, when and the way folks have been robbed for his or her useful watches.
Intelligence revealed that suspects focused victims leaving bars and nightclubs, most of whom have been drunk and in a susceptible situation.
Criminals would have spotters in search of probably the most fascinating and best-selling watches from Rolex, Patek Philippe, Richard Mille and Audemars Piguet.
Exterior the pub or membership they might be provided medicine or turn into prostitutes earlier than taking them to quiet facet streets to rob them, or method them from behind earlier than violently attacking them for his or her watches.
Incidents enhance between 11pm and 4am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, Met knowledge reveals.
Particulars of the operation have been shared with WatchPro at the moment, however the Met exercise happened in Soho from October to December 2022 and once more from March to October 2023.
In accordance with the Met, 40% of all watch thefts in London happen in Soho, Mayfair, South Kensington and Chelsea.
In response to the rising variety of watch thefts, officers from the Met Covert Policing Command and the London Theft Group despatched undercover officers to identified crime hotspots with luxurious watches, posing as members of the general public on the time.
The undercover law enforcement officials could be confronted outdoors a nightclub or bar, posing and behaving precisely just like the targets focused by the gangs.
In a CCTV clip shared with WatchPro, a plainclothes police officer in Soho is approached by a perpetrator who allegedly gives to take him to a brothel.
He’s then led by means of facet streets right into a lure set by 4 masked individuals who assault him and tear a watch from his wrist.
As they attempt to escape, they’re ambushed and arrested by one other group of undercover officers.
Over the course of two operations over a nine-month interval, the Met made 31 arrests, leading to 27 profitable prosecutions and 21 convictions so far.
Of the 21 folks convicted, 14 have been sentenced to a complete of 26 years in jail; additional proceedings are pending.
Police say the pattern is starting to have a deterrent impact on luxurious watch road robberies within the boroughs of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, in addition to Hammersmith and Fulham.
The primary operation from October to December 2022 noticed a 28% discount in watch thefts throughout all three counties by the top of that three-month interval – 43 watch thefts have been recorded in October 2022, in comparison with 31 two months later in December.
Yr-over-year, robberies fell from 429 robberies in March to October 2022 to 361 in the identical interval in 2023.
Ben Russell, Commander of Met Intelligence, mentioned: “This can be a uncommon alternative to provide the general public an perception into the work of our undercover officers, which has resulted in 31 robbers being arrested in 12 months, all caught within the act Have been stealing top quality watches within the coronary heart of the West Finish. Fourteen have already been convicted, others are awaiting sentencing and additional proceedings are pending.
“Utilizing knowledge and intelligence, we recognized the areas and instances the place these crimes happened and deployed undercover officers to the realm as a part of our precision-based method to preventing crime.
“By focusing on the individuals who trigger probably the most hurt and the locations most related to crime, we are able to have a better impression on the protection of our communities.
“Undercover operations at all times contain a level of non-public hazard and, though we topic all of our operations to thorough danger assessments, all officers concerned demonstrated extraordinary braveness and dedication.”
The Met says undercover operations are simply one in every of many measures it takes to cease a lot of these raids.
This consists of patrols in hotspots throughout the capital and campaigns to teach the general public on how one can reduce the danger of changing into victims.
“When out and about, it is vital that folks keep alert and conscious of their environment,” advises The Met. “Our ‘Look Up, Look Out’ marketing campaign encourages the general public to concentrate on who’s of their space Keep shut, maintain valuables out of sight and, if attainable, plan your route earlier than your journey,” it continues.
House owners of high-value watches are additionally requested to {photograph} them for insurance coverage functions, think about possession marking and register in a property registry database, which may also help enhance the probabilities of recovering stolen gadgets.
