Algerian small boat migrants jailed after tearing £65,000 designer watch from driver’s wrist as he took picture of Bentley in London’s Mayfair alongside his pregnant wife
Two Algerian immigrants who smashed the £65,000 watch of a motorist who took a photo of his Bentley in Mayfair have been jailed.
26-year-old Belal Amine and 23-year-old Gabriel Kamali, who were kidnapped from the English Channel in 2019, kidnapped Besart Krasniqi’s Patek Philippe in a ‘planned robbery’ on May 11 last year.
As Mr Krasniqi was leaving a posh cafe in central London with his pregnant wife, a man ripped the designer watch from his wrist and fled the scene with two other men.
The victim gave chase but was aggressively forced into a black Mercedes by Kamali, described as the group’s “spotter”, after describing the watch as “real high value”.
The three perpetrators then managed to escape through nearby alleys. The watch was never recovered.
In his victim statement, Mr Krasniqi said he accidentally took photos of the robbers moments before they targeted him.
‘I was at Hideaway Cafe 100 Mount with my wife around 4pm,’ he said. ‘I walked around the front of my car and took a photo of it in the sun.
‘Unbeknownst to me, I took a photo of one of the men who stole my watch. Later I was going to show this photo to the police.
Belal Amine (left) (26) and Gabriel Kamali (right) (23), who were smuggled across the English Channel in 2019, were jailed this week for stealing a Patek Philippe watch worth £65,000 in Mayfair.
CCTV footage shows watch thieves chased down Mount Street in Mayfair
Video shows Mr Krasniqi being pushed aside by attackers
‘I was pushed on my left shoulder by a man. A second man ripped the watch off my left wrist. The watch was now in the second man’s hand.
‘Both men fled down Carpenter Street. A third man took the leather watch strap.
‘The third male ran after me. I ran towards Carpenter Street, chasing the men. A few meters later, the third man pushed me and knocked me to the ground.
‘I lost sight of men. I called 999 and reported the situation. A man came up to me and said he was filming them and taking pictures.’
It was heard that Algerians Amine and Kamali were in the UK illegally. Kamali came to the country on a small boat when he was 16-17 years old.
‘Mrs Asfaw says she felt very bad the moment she pushed this poor man (Mr Krasniqi)’, her representative Anne Asfaw told the court.
‘He wants to apologize to the victim and ask for forgiveness.’
Tim Williams, on behalf of Amine, said that the 26-year-old was an asylum seeker and therefore was not allowed to work.
“He wanted to work, that’s what he wanted to do, get a job and stay in the UK,” Mr Williams said. ‘Obviously, that won’t be possible once your Honor imposes the sentence.’
Kamali pleaded guilty to one count of robbery, while Amine was convicted of the same charge after a trial.
Sentencing the pair on Monday, Judge Perrins said the robbery was a “serious, planned group attack”.
“So this was not an opportunistic robbery; the overwhelming evidence was that you were out that day looking for wealthy victims to rob,” the judge said.
Amine was sentenced to four years in prison and Kamali to three years. The court heard that due to the length of their sentences, both were subject to automatic deportation provisions.
“My expectation is that you will be deported upon your release,” Judge Perrins said.
Mayfair, one of the most luxurious and expensive areas of London, has become a crime hotspot where gangs of robbers frequently visit the area in search of goods to steal.
Criminals targeted Besart Krasniki on Mount Street, where he was standing with his pregnant wife on May 11 last year.
Mr Krasniqi and his wife had just left the luxury Hideaway House (pictured) when they were robbed by two Algerians and another accomplice.
Our map shows how bike thieve gangs target central London’s wealthiest areas including Park Lane, Mayfair and Oxford Street
Algerian groups in particular targeted the region; A study found that 28 per cent of phones stolen in Britain went to the North African country, making it a global destination ahead of China.
Criminals began waiting for visibly wealthy people in posh bars in Mayfair, then violently robbed them once they hit the streets.
Earlier this month BBC presenter Ben Thompson feared for his safety after he was robbed as he and his friend left a restaurant in Mayfair.
He and Roja Dove were captured by six men on March 11 before Roja was thrown to the ground and her £150,000 Patek Philippe watch was stolen.
“My behavior has changed since this attack; I no longer feel safe in London,” Mr Thompson said in a victim impact statement read as two of the gang were jailed this week.
“I get nervous and nervous when I hear a runner or cyclist approaching behind me,” the former Middle East correspondent added.
Algerian gangs are thought to have shifted from phone snatching to violent robberies following a Metropolitan Police crackdown on mobile thefts.
As a matter of fact, the number of phone thefts in London last year decreased from 81,365 to 71,391 in 2024.
Former Detective Chief Inspector David McKelvey of the Met Police said: ‘Criminals can adapt very quickly and when the police started to have some success in reducing the number of phone thefts it was inevitable that they started looking at other areas.
‘A simple ‘risk and reward’ assessment means that it would make sense for them to try to steal a very valuable watch rather than any number of valuable phones.
‘Ultimately the police need to catch these people quicker and to do this they need to respond quicker to new developments.’
