Rs 14 Crore Luxury Watch Robbery In London Was Staged And Shop Boss Knew: Report

A robbery involving expensive luxury watches worth 1.38 million pounds (Rs 14 crore) was reported from a shop in southwest London on May 25 of last year that grabbed headlines around the world. However, it has now come to light nearly eight months down the line that the robbery was "staged" and everyone involved, including the shop's manager, consented to it. The tragic part is that the shop manager later took his own life, a court has heard.

According to BBC, Junior Kunu, 30, and Mannix Pedro, 37, deny conspiring with others to commit a robbery in which 70 luxury watches were stolen from 247 Kettles in Richmond on 25 May last year. Giving evidence at Woolwich Crown Court, Mr Kunu repeatedly said, "This was not a robbery; this was staged," adding he was to be paid 5,000 pounds for putting watches into a bag.

Also Read | Your Phone Can Be Hacked Without Clicking A Link, WhatsApp Warns Users

The store's office manager, Oliver White, 27, took his life the following day "as a direct result" of the raid, jurors were previously told.

Mr Kunu told the court he had been recruited to take part in a fake robbery, believing it to be an insurance scam. If he had thought it was genuine, he would not have taken part, he said.

"I knew that the person in the shop was going to comply. I knew that I was going to put watches in the bag, and I had to do nothing else," he told the court.