Three men who violently stole a £137,000 designer watch from a visiting businessman outside a luxury Mayfair restaurant have been jailed. A judge condemned high-value watch robberies as a stain on London's reputation.
Younes Djoudi, 34, was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison. Abdel El Habchi, 30, received five years and six months, and Ali Eldahouzze, 22, was jailed for three years and six months.
Attack outside Mayfair restaurant
The trio robbed Romanian fashion entrepreneur Catalin Botezatu outside Amazonico in Berkeley Square on January 28. They made off with his diamond-encrusted Richard Mille watch.
Sentencing at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Dafna Spiro said London should be a "safe city" for visitors.
"We are privileged to attract people such as Catalin Botezatu," she said. "It is a shame and a blight on our city that robberies of this kind occur and unsurprising that he has been deterred from returning as a result."
The judge added that luxury watch robberies had become "an all too familiar feature" of criminality in London, damaging public confidence and the capital's international reputation.
Victim feared for his life
The court heard the three men carried out surveillance before targeting Mr Botezatu shortly before midnight as he stood near his car after leaving the restaurant.
Prosecutors said the group surrounded him and forcibly removed the watch from his wrist. A sharp object was used to slice through the strap, leaving cuts to the victim's arm.
Giving evidence during the trial, Mr Botezatu told jurors he was pushed against a fence and restrained during the attack.
"I couldn't believe that something like this could happen in London, in front of a luxury restaurant where I was a client," he said.
The businessman told the court he feared for his life because of previous cancer treatment and five stents he has fitted in his body. "I feared for my life," he said, adding that even a minor injury could have had serious consequences.
Sentencing and investigation
The watch also carried deep personal significance. "It had a lot of sentimental value," Mr Botezatu said. "It came from a very good friend of mine who is unfortunately no longer with us and it was a birthday present."
Djoudi admitted the robbery, while El Habchi and Eldahouzze were convicted after a nine-day trial. The watch has never been recovered.
Detective Inspector Tom Revell said the men had threatened violence in order to steal the watch, causing "significant distress" to the victim. He praised officers for identifying the suspects through CCTV and intelligence enquiries before bringing them before the courts.
