Algerian migrants who stole two Patek Philippe watches worth more than £100,000 from black cab passengers in London's West End are jailed for more than seven years

By JAKE HOLDEN, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:45, 15 June 2026 | Updated: 14:47, 15 June 2026 Two Algerian migrants who stole designer watches worth more than £100,000 from black cab passengers in London's West End have been jailed. Algerians Txomin Huare-Place, 30, and Ayoub Harek, 23, targeted wealthy victims in a series of robberies in the capital and escaped on Lime bikes. Mark Watkin-Jones was dining with his partner and two friends when Huare-Place stole his £32,000 Patek Philippe watch as he got into a taxi on July 7, 2022, Southwark Crown Court heard. 'They ran from the cab towards the steps that lead to Upper Thames Street', said Natalia Williams, prosecuting. 'The driver called 999 and the police attended. The incident lasted between 10 and 20 seconds, and it took place at dusk.' In a separate incident nearly three years later, Eric Yau was robbed of his £44,000 Patek Philippe watch by Huare-Place and Harek on June 20, 2025. He too had been dining with his wife and hailed a cab on St James Street. 'On exiting the cab he was set upon by two males,' Ms Williams said. Txomin Huare-Place, 30, was jailed for three years an nine months for robbery after stealing several watches worth more than £100,000 from wealthy people in London Ayoub Harek, 23, was jailed for three years. The pair targeted people getting into black cabs before ripping the watches of their wrists and escaping on Lime bikes 'They went straight for his watch and ripped it off his left wrist.' 'He chased them in the hope of catching up with them, however they were too fast, and they cycled towards Lambeth Bridge.' The robbers snatched Eric Willoughby's £60,000 Patek Philippe three days later, the court heard. 'They grabbed him with such force that he spun around towards the male who was doing the act,' said Ms Williams. 'Despite shouting about what had happened, the assailants managed to flee before members of the public gathered. 'There was CCTV from the incidents. The two defendants have been identified by officers as matching their description.' Huare-Place and Harek were arrested lurking outside the Millennium Hotel in Knightsbridge on 9 November last year after a member of staff reported them to the police, the court heard. The prosecutor said Harek had used false documentation to travel in and out of the country. 'He flew to Barcelona after leaving the country on travel documents in a different name. He was using travel documents and various passports in different names. 'Both defendants were pre-planning and targeting high value goods. 'This is clearly an organised operation.' Mr Willoughby's victim statement said the effect of the theft 'has been significant and it continues to affect me on a daily basis. 'Since the robbery I have experienced heightened anxiety and paranoia when out in public. This has greatly affected my self confidence and sense of security. 'I frequently feel vulnerable and unsafe in London, a city where I used to feel safe and at ease.' Referring to Mr Yau's statement Ms Williams said: 'Mr Yau said the watch was a wedding gift from his wife...He says that knowing that the watch is lost forever is heartbreaking.' Sentencing the Algerian pair Judge Mark Weekes said: 'What emerges is a pattern of deliberate, targeted offending in public places against members of the public and involving the use of force to a lesser or greater extent.' The judge said that their offending 'produced high value items taken by theft or robbery from the losers.' 'Each of the offences is aggravated by group offending, the fact that they were high value items, and, in both your cases, repeating offending within days.' Huare-Place, of Lewisham, southeast London, both admitted two counts of robbery, while Huare-Place alone admitted a further count of theft from Mr Watkin-Jones. Huare-Place was jailed for three years and nine months, while Harek, of no fixed address, was jailed for three years. They were both aided by an Arabic interpreter throughout the sentencing hearing. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.