Two Algerian migrants have been jailed for stealing designer watches worth over £100,000 from black taxi passengers in London's West End. Txomin Huare-Place, 30, and Ayoub Harek, 23, were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after admitting a series of robberies targeting wealthy individuals.
The pair were arrested on November 9 last year after police spotted them lurking outside the Millennium Hotel in Knightsbridge. An investigation linked them to three thefts of Patek Philippe watches valued at £32,000, £44,000, and £60,000. Huare-Place, of Lewisham, was jailed for three years and nine months after pleading guilty to three counts of robbery, while Harek, of no fixed address, received three years for two counts.
Sentencing, Judge Mark Weekes described a pattern of deliberate, targeted offending in public places involving force. He noted the offences were aggravated by group offending, the high value of items, and repeat offending within days. Prosecutor Natalia Williams said the incidents were pre-planned and part of an organised operation, with Harek using false documentation to travel in and out of the country.
The first theft occurred on July 7, 2022, when Huare-Place stole a watch from Mark Watkin-Jones as he entered a taxi. On June 20, 2025, Eric Yau was robbed of his £44,000 wedding present watch by both defendants, and three days later Eric Willoughby lost his £60,000 timepiece. In a victim statement, Mr Willoughby described heightened anxiety and paranoia, feeling unsafe in a city where he once felt secure.
