Two men guilty of robbing Romanian designer of £137k watch in Mayfair

Ali Eldahouzze and Abdel El Habchi were convicted of robbing Catalin Botezatu outside a Berkeley Square restaurant. A third man had already pleaded guilty.

Richard Mille watch cut from designer's wrist outside Mayfair restaurant

Two men have been found guilty of robbing Romanian fashion entrepreneur Catalin Botezatu of a £137,000 Richard Mille watch outside an upmarket Mayfair restaurant, BBC News reports.

Ali Eldahouzze, 22, and Abdel El Habchi, 30, were convicted of robbery by a jury at Southwark Crown Court following a nine-day trial. A third member of the gang, Younes Djoudi, had pleaded guilty before proceedings began.

The attack took place in Berkeley Square just before midnight on 28 January, as Botezatu was smoking outside Latin American restaurant Amazonico with a friend.

Prosecutor Arizuna Asante told the court that the three men surrounded Botezatu and seized the watch from his left wrist. "It is believed a knife was used to cut through the rubber strap because the victim had cuts on his wrists after the watch was taken," Asante said.

Giving evidence from behind a screen, Botezatu, who is from Bucharest, described being pushed into a fence and restrained. "The man in the middle had a sharp instrument, I don't know what, and he cut me. He cut the watch strap as well," he said.

Botezatu, who has had cancer surgery and has five cardiac stents fitted, said the assault left him fearing for his life. "The slightest blow or cut, God forbid, where I was operated, could have been fatal," he told the court. "I couldn't believe that something like this could happen in London, in front of a luxury restaurant where I was a client."

The watch carried significant personal meaning. Botezatu said it had been given to him around 13 years ago as a birthday present by a close friend who has since died. "It had a lot of sentimental value," he said.

Both defendants denied active participation in the robbery. El Habchi, described in court as a social media influencer in Morocco, said he had no idea the robbery was about to take place and played no part in it. Eldahouzze claimed Djoudi had threatened to "set me on fire" if he did not help snatch the watch, but maintained he had refused.

The jury rejected both defences. Police had recovered messages on Eldahouzze's phone that included a photograph of the stolen watch.

All three men were remanded in custody ahead of sentencing, scheduled for 16 October.

Source: BBC News