Four men behind a spate of luxury watch robberies in Mayfair were caught red-handed by Scotland Yard’s elite Flying Squad.
Zakaria Mohammed’s gang targeted a 29-year-old man for his £2,000 Tag Heuer as he left a hotel bar on Berkeley Square following an evening out with a friend.
Detectives who had them under surveillance watched as the victim got in a taxi to head home, closely followed by suspects in a separate car at 2am on August 12.
Once he arrived on his doorstep in Bermondsey, the man was ambushed, grabbed around his neck and put in a chokehold.
While he was sprawled on the ground, one robber gripped his wrist in an attempt to steal the timepiece, but couldn’t work out how to detach the clasp.
The four fled followed by Metropolitan Police Flying Squad and Westminster Robbery Squad officers who arrested them nearby.
At Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, Mohammed, 22, of Leghorn Road, Kensal Rise, was jailed for two years and 12 weeks for attempted robbery.
Abukar Aligas, 23, of Holland Road, Kensal Rise, and Abdikafi Omar, 21, of Buchanan Gardens, Kensal Rise, and Mahamud Gudal, 22, of no fixed address, received two years, suspended for 24 months.
Detective Sergeant Gary Taylor, who led an investigation into several expensive watch muggings in London’s West End, said: “I am proud that the proactive work my team does, as demonstrated in this case, resulted in the arrests and the sentencing of these four individuals.
“We are doing everything in our power to ensure London’s streets are safer and that criminals like these are brought to justice.
“We remain committed to tackling robbery in all its forms.”
