Return of the Rolex Rippers

Return of the Rolex Rippers: Elderly victims conned by ‘honeytrap’ women fraudsters who stole their Rolexes urge other men to hide their watches as warm weather returns

  • Police have warned men that the ‘Rolex Rippers’ could strike again this Spring 
  • Young female fraudsters flirt with men then steal their expensive watches
  • The crime ring allegedly struck more than 50 times from April last year 
  • Most took place in affluent areas of Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Surrey 

Police have warned men that attractive ‘honeytrap’ fraudsters dubbed the ‘Rolex Rippers’ are likely to strike once again, as temperatures soar and short-sleeve weather returns to Britain. 

Young female thieves with ‘European accents’ who steal men’s expensive luxury watches by flirting with their victims then subtly nabbing the items off their wrists allegedly struck more than 50 times last year.

Most of the crimes took place after April in the affluent areas of Dorset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Surrey and Sussex, with many reported at exclusive golf clubs whose wealthy members tend to unknowingly ‘advertise’ their watches and wear polo shirts.

It is believed that the women, who operate in pairs and either pose as damsels in distress or touchy-feely charity workers with clipboards to bamboozle unsuspecting older men, were last active in October.

With the sun out and temperatures on the rise, it is feared the female gang will soon be targeting potential victims again.

New CCTV has emerged of one of the Rippers (centre) operating at West Surrey Golf Club, Enton Green, Godalming, Surrey

A CCTV image of a prime suspect after a robbery in lower Parkstone, Poole, in September

Most of the crimes took place after April in the affluent areas of Dorset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Surrey and Sussex, with many reported at exclusive golf clubs whose wealthy members tend to unknowingly ‘advertise’ their watches

‘What the hell has happened to our country?’: Victims of the ‘Rolex Rippers’ speak out

DEREK FREESTONE

Derek Freestone was sitting in the passenger seat of his friend’s Mercedes, parked in the picturesque fishing town of Emsworth in Hampshire, when two women knocked on the window and asked him to sign a petition for a deaf school 

Derek Freestone, a retired wine merchant from Birchington, Kent, was en route to the Goodwood Festival of Speed motor racing event with a friend when they stopped in Emsworth at 3.15pm on July 7 last year to pick up medication from a pharmacy in the town.

He was sitting in the passenger seat of his friend’s Mercedes, parked in the picturesque fishing town of Emsworth in Hampshire, when two women knocked on the window and asked him to sign a petition for a deaf school.

No sooner had he done so than one of them lunged, throwing her arms around the 77-year-old as she tried to kiss him.

Shocked, he barely gave a thought to the second lady, who had been shaking his left hand.

Only after he’d pushed the first woman away and shut the car door did he realise his gold Rolex – bought 20 years ago for £4,500 but now worth £12,500 – was gone.

‘I jumped out and shot round the car but there was no sign of them. It happened so quickly,’ says Mr Freestone, still reeling from the robbery three months later.

‘It really hit me in the pit of my stomach. What the hell have we done to our country that this can happen in broad daylight?’.  

He said the two women were dark-haired, one in her late 20s, one late 30s, and around 5ft 5in and 5ft 7in tall.

ALAN BRUCE

Alan Bruce, who had his £14,000 watch stolen by two women

Within a day, the gang had moved on to their next target – Alan Bruce, 63, who lives at the edge of Ferndown Golf Club and was seven miles away in Wimborne, Dorset, when he was robbed at about 11am on July 15.

Having parked his Audi TT Sport, he was approached by two women carrying a clipboard in the town centre. He estimates both were in their late 20s or early 30s.

‘The taller one was in jeans and a dark top, the shorter one in a long, brightly coloured dress,’ says Mr Bruce, a divorced father of two who frequently travels for his job as a marine engineer.

‘I pick up accents and I would say they were either Albanian or Bulgarian. They said: “We’re doing a petition for a deaf centre” and would I sign a document? I said no problem.’

Left-handed and wearing his £14,000 gold Yacht-Master Rolex on the same hand, he signed the petition. Then the younger woman said she loved his aftershave and asked where it was from. To his astonishment, she then asked him for a cuddle. 

Alarmed, he instinctively put his right hand on his back pocket to protect his wallet and pushed the women with his left hand before walking away. 

It was only as he did so that he realised his Rolex was missing, its double clasp having been prised off without him feeling a thing.

One victim said he is certain the female gang are about to return for their ‘summer shopping spree’ after a winter hiatus.

Alan Bruce, a 63-year-old marine engineer, lost his £14,000 Rolex after being distracted by two women posing as charity workers outside a shop while dressed in a T-shirt.

Although the incident happened in the centre of Wimborne, Dorset, Mr Bruce lives next to £2,000-a-year Ferndown Golf club and can’t rule out the possibility he was followed by the duo.

Mr Bruce said: ‘It’s going to get worse as the weather gets warmer and people wear short sleeved clothes – they got me when I was wearing a t-shirt. It was a lovely hot day. You’re basically advertising it to them. 

Police hunting two women dubbed the ‘Rolex Rippers’ released CCTV images of the suspects 

CCTV of the suspects pulling up outside victim Richard Gray’s flat at Canford Cliffs in Poole

Why is it so difficult to track down stolen Rolexes? 

Pictured: Rolex Submariner watch. The timepieces are being robbed in broad daylight by the ‘Rolex Rippers’ using techniques that distract the victims

Rolexes are problematic stolen goods, as each one has a unique serial number and every watch reported missing is put on the company’s lost and stolen register.

Stolen Rolexes can change hands several times between criminals over a period of years, as the truth about their original ownership becomes obscured, while their value depreciates.

Michael Parry, whose Rolex was stolen in the Cotswolds village of Bourton-on-the-Water, said: ‘If it goes to be repaired or serviced, they check the number – and if it has been reported stolen they won’t give it back to the customer.’

‘They’ve got away with it so far so there’s no reason why they won’t come back. They’ll be out here for their summer shopping spree when the warm weather hits. People have got to be on their guard. 

‘I’ve always had a real thing for expensive watches but I don’t think I’ll ever wear one again. I’ve got a much cheaper one now.

‘I’d say the same to others – the more Rolex watches around, the more they’ll have to steal.

‘I’m very wary now, not just with watches but with all my items. I think it’s a lottery whether or not they’ll get caught. Hopefully the police will get lucky.’

Two days after Mr Bruce fell prey to the rippers, Robin Haycock was also targeted in the car park at Ferndown Golf Club.

As he climbed out of a golf buggy a woman, aged in her 20s, made polite conversation with Mr Haycock before springing on him. She grabbed hold of his £20,000 Rolex Daytona watch, tore it from his left wrist and sprinted off towards the car park where she escaped in a black getaway car.

Mr Haycock, 75, said: ‘I’m disappointed they haven’t been caught – they won’t stop until they’ve been found.

‘People need to make sure its not obvious that they’re wearing a Rolex watch. I haven’t replaced mine and don’t plan to.’

At West Sussex Golf Club at Pulborough, where several members warded off the Rippers last summer, general manager Alistair Adams said he would be briefing staff ahead of the summer season.

He said: ‘I will be warning members that there is a possibility this gang will get going again in the summer months. We did have one visit from them last year. It was a summer’s day and a woman got out of a car and walked to our terrace where she approached some of our members. She made out that she was filling in a survey.

‘She got the vibe that it wasn’t going to work when they started to ask questions and she hurriedly made a quick exit, so it wasn’t very successful.’

A spokesman for Surrey Police previously suggested the thefts were being perpetrated by an organised crime group.

A spokesperson for Dorset Police, which is investigating up to 10 of the robberies, admitted that they had no definitive data about what all victims were wearing.

They added: ‘The most recent offence in Dorset was committed in October 2021 and there have been no further offences since.

‘We are sharing information and intelligence and actively working with other forces nationally through a National Acquisitive Crime Operation with a view to identifying offenders and the onward movement of stolen items.’

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