Tragic Consequences of Luxury Watch Heist
Three members of a criminal gang are facing prison sentences for their roles in a £1.1 million luxury watch robbery that led to the tragic suicide of shop manager Oliver White. The 27-year-old was restrained with cable ties during the violent raid at the 247 Kettles store in Richmond, southwest London, on May 25 last year.
Guilty Verdicts and Missing Evidence
Kyle Mehmet, 40, and Michael Holmes, 34, were found guilty of conspiracy to rob and will be sentenced at a later date alongside Mannix Pedro, 37, who was convicted of the same offence earlier this year. In a surprising twist, Junior Kunu, 31, was cleared of conspiracy to rob after claiming the entire heist was staged.
The court heard how seventy uninsured watches, including a £30,000 Rolex Sky Dweller, were stolen while the business owners, Conor Thornton and Joe Riley, were in New York. The total value of the stolen timepieces reached approximately £1.1 million.
Devastating Aftermath and Suspicious Meetings
Oliver White was so devastated by allegations that he had collaborated with the robbers that he took his own life the day after the robbery in woods near Shepperton where he had played as a child. His girlfriend, Alana Dredge, revealed in a heart-wrenching statement how the accusations "broke him" and how he felt betrayed by his employers.
The day after the robbery, business owners Thornton and Riley flew back from New York for what was described as an 'intense' meeting with Mr White, attended by a third businessman, Fred Sines. During this meeting, Sines allegedly suggested Mr White "didn't put up much of a fight" and implied he might have been involved in the robbery.
Ms Dredge described how Mr White returned from the meeting deeply distressed, saying his friends and employers no longer trusted him. He was asked to attend another meeting later that day, during which he sent his final message to his girlfriend saying "I love you" before taking his own life.
Organised Crime Connections and Bounties
The trial revealed startling connections to organised crime. Jurors heard claims that 247 Kettles was run by Maurice and Fred Sines as a 'front for organised crime' and that £100,000 bounties were placed on the heads of the robbers.
Fred Sines, 37, had previously received a suspended jail sentence for attempting to sell the £4.8 million gold toilet stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019. He is the son of multimillionaire caravan magnate Maurice 'Fred' Sines, who has been accused by Irish authorities of being an ally of the notorious Kinahan organised crime clan.
During the trial, Pedro suggested there were "shadowy characters involved putting hits on people" and claimed there were £150,000 bounties on the heads of Kunu and Mehmet. He also raised disturbing questions about Mr White's death, stating "One person who has committed suicide, but we do not know it is suicide," prompting an angry outburst from Mr White's family in the public gallery.
The Robbery and Getaway
CCTV evidence shown to jurors depicted Mehmet tying up Mr White and holding him in a headlock while Kunu swiped the valuable watches. Holmes had participated in a 'dry run' at the shop two days before the actual robbery.
Pedro was described as being 'closely involved in the planning and execution' of the raid and supplied a stolen Audi as one of several getaway cars. He was arrested days after the robbery driving a black Audi SQ5 and later attempted to flee to Marseille using a false passport.
Mehmet claimed he participated in the robbery because he owed £190,000 to 'serious criminals' whom he referred to as 'the firm'. After learning about the bounty on his head, he fled to Turkey with his wife and children before returning to the UK where he was arrested in March this year.
None of the stolen watches have been recovered, and it was revealed they were not insured. Mr White had even offered the owners the £14,000 he had been saving for a flat deposit with his girlfriend to compensate for the stolen jewellery.
Judge Philip Shorrock said he will sentence all three convicted men on a date to be fixed, while a fifth suspect, Michael Ashman, remains at large.
