Million Dollar Watch Heists Cracked As London Cops Go Undercover

London’s Metropolitan Police recently shared a thrilling footage capturing undercover officers in action, strategically posing as bait to catch gangs responsible for a series of high profile luxury watch robberies worth £4 million in central London. The officers disguised themselves as ordinary citizens wearing luxury watches and became targets for the thieves. Engaging them in conversation, the criminals attempted to forcibly snatch the watches, leading to swift police intervention and arrests. The released CCTV footage shows four such incidents, shedding light on the daring operations conducted in the Soho area, a hub of London’s nightlife. These operations, which happened from October to December 2022 and March to October 2023, aimed to control the rise in luxury watch thefts.

According to police reports, the thieves would target individuals leaving pubs and nightclubs, often misusing their helpless state due to alcoholism. The attackers trapped victims by offering drugs or sex workers, leading them to isolated side streets where they would be robbed. Alternatively, the criminals used violent tactics, approaching victims from behind and forcefully taking their property. Seeing the rise of such cases, the Met Covert Policing Command and the central London robbery team initiated two operations to identify and catch the criminals.

A post shared by Metropolitan Police (@metpolice_uk)

A post shared by Metropolitan Police (@metpolice_uk)

In a police statement, Ben Russell, Commander for Met Intelligence, said, “This is a rare chance to give the public insight into the work done by our undercover officers, which resulted in 31 robbers arrested in a 12 month period, all caught red handed trying to steal high value watches in the heart of the West End. Fourteen have already been sentenced, with more awaiting sentencing and other cases pending. Using data and intelligence, we identified the locations and times where these crimes were taking place and deployed undercover officers into the area, as part of our precision-based approach to fighting crime.”

“By targeting the people causing the most harm and the locations most frequently linked to crime, we are having a greater impact on keeping our communities safe. Undercover operations will always carry an element of personal danger and, while we risk assessing all our operations thoroughly, all the officers involved demonstrated extraordinary courage and determination,” Russell added.

Data reveals that the majority of robberies happened in London’s West End between 11 am and 4 am. Meanwhile, the undercover operations conducted by the police have led to 31 arrests and 27 successful charges, resulting in 21 verdicts so far. Among this group, 14 individuals have been sentenced for 26 years in prison, with additional cases still pending.