A WATCH dealer took his own life after he was put in a chokehold during a £1.4 million raid, a court heard today.
Oliver White, 27, was bound with cable ties as two men robbed him of “very high-value” watches and £155,000 in cash from the store in Richmond, West London.
The watch dealer was contacted on Whatsapp in the days leading up to the robbery
Oliver with his girlfriend of six years Alana Dredge
Horrified by the events which unfolded in May, White killed himself the following day, Woolwich Crown Court heard.
The heist of “uninsured” designer watches, included a £30,000 Rolex Sky Dweller, as well as precious gems.
These have never been recovered and three accomplices are believed to have fled the country soon after the raid, the court heard.
Junior Kuku, 29, from Mitcham, south London and Mannix Pedro, 37, from Cobham, Surrey, were among the men who conspired to carry out the robbery.
The prosecuting counsel Edward Brown KC said: “The conspiracy alleged against the two defendants culminated in a robbery that took place on 25 May 2024 at a premises in Richmond known as 247 Kettles, during which a large number of very high value watches were taken.
“The total value of the watches that were taken is approximately £1,384,000. None of the watches have been recovered and for reasons that will become clear they were not insured.”
On the day of the robbery, Kunu and another man entered the store just after 3pm.
Posing to be customers, White presented them with trays of watches to inspect.
But they soon “lunged” at him and began to “grab” the watches.
Shocking CCTV of the events which took place was shown to the jury.
White was attacked at a jewellers in Richmond
The men entered the shop and then assaulted a member of staff
Three others involved are thought to have fled overseas
This revealed how Kunu glanced at the high-value items as his accomplice attacked White.
The manager’s wrists and ankles could be seen being bound with cable ties with the men calmly exiting the building soon after.
A member of White’s family was seen wiping away tears as the court watched the footage.
Brown told the jury: “Kunu can be seen filling a backpack with watch after watch after watch.
“Each watch was worth thousands of pounds, so each one was grabbed.
“Some 80 watches were taken.”
The court also heard how White made two statements to cops.
He described how he had been put in a headlock and then tied up.
Brown KC told the court: “None of this was an accident.
“This was therefore a well planned and well coordinated robbery of a large number of very valuable watches.
“The £1.38m worth of watches and the robbers from Kettles had left the premises, got into the stolen Audi, driven to the preplanned changeover location, transferred into the changeover car that had got by then to the prearranged location.
“The person managing and in charge of the office at that time was a man called Oliver White.
“He was tied up during the robbery and the robbers filled what they had with them with as many of those watches as they could in the time.
“There is a postscript to this robbery – and a truly tragic postscript. The following day, therefore 26 May, Oliver White – as a direct result of the robbery – took his own life.
“His body was found in a wood near Shepperton, West London.”
Brown also described the “conspiracy” with each man taking on a “different role”.
Planning for the raid took place three months prior, the court heard.
White had been working at 247 Kettles for five months when he was contacted through Instagram and Whatsapp by one “conspirator”.
Released records show how they discussed items in excess of £50,000.
Brown told the jury how this type of robbery “does not happen by chance or without planning”.
In the weeks leading up to the robbery, those involved are thought to have travelled across the country for meetings.
They even used a stolen Audi A3 as an initial “getaway” vehicle.
Two days before the robbery, on May 23, the gang also carried out a “recce” of the Richmond shop, the court heard.
Kunu and Pedro have both denied conspiracy to commit robbery as the trial is set to continue.
UnpixsThe shop assistant was found dead a day after being robbed[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
