Rolex watch snatcher who lured victims with talk of football jailed
A prolific thief has been jailed following a string of high value watch robberies in central London.
Mohamed Amoyos, 33, of Trimmer Walk, Houslow, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ in prison at Southwark Crown Court yesterday.
Amoyos had pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery at an earlier hearing.
The court heard that Amoyos targeted lone men at night for their designer watches. He would discuss football in South America before grabbing the victim’s watch once their guard was down.
Between October 2023 and December 2023, Amoyos stole four valuable watches, totalling £65,000.
These included a £7,000 Rolex watch that was stolen from a man in Kensington on October 4, 2023, before Amoyos snatched a £40,000 Audemars Piguet watch from a man in Westminster on November 18, 2023.
Six days later Amoyos targeted a man in Kensington for his Rolex Submariner watch, worth £15,000, before robbing a fourth victim of his limited-edition Muhammad Ali Tag Heurer watch, worth £2,500, in Westminster, on December 1, 2024.
Met officers arrested Amoyos on January 8 and built a “watertight” case against him following detailed reports by the victims as well as CCTV of the robberies.
Amoyos’ sentencing comes as part of the Met’s efforts to crack down on violence and robbery following a spate of thefts between April and September 2022, which saw watches worth about £4million stolen.
Met officers are targeting resources to hotspot areas for both phone and watch robberies, such as Westminster and Croydon, with increased patrols and plain clothes officers which deter criminals and make officers more visibly available to members of the community.
Detective Superintendent Andy Swindells, who led the investigation, said: “We’ve seen time and time again the devastating effect that robbery can have on victims, no matter what gets stolen.
“We encourage people to report as soon as they can whenever they have been a victim of a robbery or theft, so officers can attend the scene and investigate swiftly.”
Pictured top: Mohamed Amoyos has been jailed for four years (Picture: The Met)