Gang of watch thieves grabbed one of world’s rarest timepieces worth £700,000 after targeting wealthy shoppers on London streets, court hears

  • Mehdi Didda, 33 and Mohamed Safri, 34, accused of stealing high-end watches
  • They allegedly worked with Didda's brother Sofiane to sell the stolen goods
  • One of the allegedly stolen watches is one of 30 made and worth £700,000
  • All three deny the charges and are on trial at Southwark Crown Court 

By Joseph Curtis For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A gang of watch thieves grabbed one of the world’s rarest watches worth £700,000 in a series of 'targeted' raids, a court heard. 

Mehdi Didda, 33, and Mohamed Safri, 34, were allegedly part of a gang who pursued victims for their valuable timepieces.

Mehdi’s brother Sofiane Didda, 43, is accused of helping sell the stolen loot from a lock-up premises in Queensway Market, Bayswater, west London.

Southwark Crown Court heard one of the timepieces was a Richard Mille RM 69 Erotic Tourbillon, one of only 30 created by the exclusive watchmaker.

Heidi Stonecliffe, prosecuting, said the robbers took valuable watches from 'unsuspecting members of the public they targeted'.

One of the items they allegedly stole was a £700,000 Richard Mille RM 69 Erotic Tourbillon watch, similar to this one pictured, that is only one of 30 ever made

One of the items they allegedly stole was a £700,000 Richard Mille RM 69 Erotic Tourbillon watch, similar to this one pictured, that is only one of 30 ever made

She said: ‘They handled these watches and other high value items knowing that they were stolen.

‘They did this for a single purpose, it is one that everyone will recognise, greed.

‘The watches that were taken in robberies were worth between £20,000 and in one case nearly £700,000.’

She said those involved made ‘significant’ amounts of money from selling the goods and spent it on luxuries.

Ms Stonecliffe added: ‘They could be sold on for significant amounts of money. They spent some of it on designer clothes for themselves.’

Ms Stonecliffe said one of the victims, Fawkzyah Al Sharah, had her Louis Vuitton bag swiped from the boot of her chauffeur driven car as it was about to take her to Heathrow.

The monogrammed bag contained a Chopard necklace and pendant as well as a Harry Winston watch that were later found in a lockaway used by the two Didda brothers.

The prosecutor said the robbers stalked wealthy members of the public, eyeing up their shopping bags and watches, communicating with each other by talking into their earphones.

She said: ‘It involved identifying a victim by the type of watch they were wearing, the shopping bag they were carrying, and the area they were in.

‘They would follow them around the shop or keep watch on them.

‘Once the time was right the defendants and their fellow conspirators would act and grab the watch from the victim.’

She added £10,320 cash, said to be the proceeds of crime, was recovered from the lockaways used by the two Didda brothers.

Jurors also heard £1,160 was recovered from Sofiane Didda’s house, which the prosecution claim is also the result of criminal activity.

Other stolen goods recovered from the lockaways included a drone owned by H Robotics, a Nikon camera belonging to Amit Desai and a Panerai watch belonging to Jonny Ward-Manning.

The Didda brothers claim they ran a legitimate business and had no idea that any of the goods were stolen.

Mehdi Didda, of Wandsworth, and Safri, of no fixed address, together deny conspiracy to rob.

Mehdi Didda and Sofiane Didda, of Bethnal Green, together deny one count of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, seven counts of handling stolen goods, and one of possessing criminal property.

Sofiane Didda alone denies two further counts of handling stolen goods and one of possessing criminal property.

The trial continues.

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Gang of watch thieves grabbed one of world’s rarest timepieces

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