Two Algerian migrants have been jailed for stealing designer watches worth over £100,000 from black taxi passengers in London. Txomin Huare-Place, 30, and Ayoub Harek, 23, targeted wealthy individuals in the West End, using force to snatch high-value timepieces.
The pair were arrested after police spotted them lurking outside the Millennium Hotel in Knightsbridge on 9 November last year. An investigation revealed they had stolen three Patek Philippe watches valued at £32,000, £44,000 and £60,000 from victims in the area.
Huare-Place, of Lewisham, southeast London, was jailed for three years and nine months after admitting three counts of robbery. Harek, of no fixed address, was jailed for three years after admitting two counts of robbery. Both required an Arabic interpreter during sentencing at Southwark Crown Court.
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 first theft occurred on 7 July 2022, when Huare-Place stole a £32,000 Patek Philippe from Mark Watkin-Jones as he entered a taxi. On 20 June 2025, Huare-Place and Harek robbed Eric Yau of his £44,000 watch, a wedding present, as he exited a cab on St James Street. Three days later, they snatched Eric Willoughby's £60,000 watch with such force that he spun around.
In a victim statement, Mr Willoughby said he now experiences heightened anxiety and paranoia in public, feeling vulnerable and unsafe in London. The court heard Harek used false documentation to travel in and out of the country, and that both defendants were involved in an organised operation targeting high-value goods.
