London gangs have admitted to using “female spotters” to aid them in stealing more than £50million worth of watches.

Almost 80,000 watches have been reported as stolen or missing, according to global crime prevention database The Watch Register.

The platform said there has been a “concerning surge” in potential thefts in recent years.

And now, an investigation by the BBC, revealed some of the tactics used by organised crime groups in London to find luxury watches to steal.

Journalist Tir Dhondy met with a gang leader, known only as M, and a woman used as a “spotter” called Abi. Her job is to go to bars and nightclubs in affluent areas of the city to look for potential male victims amongst the crowd of well-dressed clientele.

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She said: “I’ll talk to the guys, see what they’re wearing.” Abi is on the look-out for expensive watches while talking to men, and will alert gang members if she spots one worth stealing.

The gang will then target the victim, often threatening them with knives and machetes, before making off with the luxury item.

The Metropolitan Police are aware of the tactics used, explaining how the thefts were organised crime.

Gang leader M told the publication: “All I care about is getting the watches, selling the watches and that’s it.” He claims to run a large network of full-time thieves, describing himself as the “big dog” when it comes to watch thefts.

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M admits to seeing his victims as a mere opportunity to earn some cash. “He’s wearing a deposit for his house on his wrist, that’s money for me,” he says.

In 2022, more than £50million worth of watches were stolen in the capital, according to a Met Police FOI. In the first six months of 2023, 3,190 watches were reported stolen.

A fifth of those thefts involved violence. When asked if he feels guilty about the violence towards his victims, M says: “No, it don’t make me feel bad.”

Abi, who works as a spotter for the gang, said she earns between £500 and £1,000 for her part in the theft.

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Asked if she felt guilty for setting men up to be violently robbed, she said: “I mean, yeah and no, I do a little bit, but at the same time I’ve got bills to pay.”

M walks around with a stolen watch on his wrist, which he estimates to be worth between £20,000 and £30,000.

Andrew Dinsmore – a Conservative councillor who had his watch stolen by a thief riding a moped and carrying a machete – believes there was a spotter, like Abi, who was operating in the restaurant he was at with his wife, shortly before his watch was stolen. “My wife thought it was a terrorist attack,” Andrew says. “She thought I was going to be beheaded.”

The documentary, Hunting the Rolex Rippers, will air on BBC Three on Tuesday, December 5 at 9pm.

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