A gang of robbers were acting out of ‘greed’ when they decided to steal a £72,000 diamond-encrusted watch from famous boxing champion Amir Khan, a court heard.
Mr Khan, 36, was robbed of his rose gold Franck Muller Vanguard Chronograph after dining with wife Faryal, 31, and friend Omar Khalid at the Sahara Grill in Leyton, east London on April 18, 2022.
‘Gunman’ Dante Campbell, 21, ran at Mr Khan outside the restaurant and yelled at him to ‘take off the watch’, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.
Campbell and Ahmed Bana, 25, have admitted conspiracy to rob and possession of an imitation firearm. Nurul Amin and Ismail Mohamed, both 25, both deny conspiracy to commit robbery.
Amin and Mohamed were said to be ‘spotters’ who sat at a table a few feet away from Mr Khan in the restaurant.
In his closing speech prosecutor Philip Evans said that the incident was ‘plain as day’ and that the crime was ‘perpetrated for nothing other than greed’.
A gang of robbers were acting out of ‘greed’ when they decided to steal a £72,000 diamond-encrusted watch from famous boxing champion Amir Khan, a court has heard (pictured, footage of the incident from CCTV nearby)
Mr Khan, 36, was robbed of his £72,000 rose gold Franck Muller Vanguard Chronograph watch (pictured) after dining at the Sahara Grill in Leyton, east London on April 18, 2022
Amir was with wife Faryal, 31, (pictured together) and friend Omar Khalid on the night of the incident as they left the restaurant
Speaking to the Jury, Mr Evans said: ‘We know there was a robbery. We know that. Campbell and Bana have pleaded guilty. You can see it, as plain as day, on the streets of London. A man pointing a gun at the head of another man.
‘This was perpetrated against a man who is famous. It was perpetrated against a man who has wealth, and had part of his wealth, and had part of that wealth on his hand.’
‘This was a crime perpetrated for nothing other than greed. To take from someone, something that was earned.’
Mr Evans said it would have been at the forefront of the mind of the robbers to not get caught.
‘The prosecution do not ask you to convict on the basis of their drug dealing. But the reality is that they have used the drug dealing to say to you that that was the reason he was meeting up with Bana.
‘Do you really think it is credible that Bana thought “I know, on my way to commit an armed robbery I will pop down a side street in a car not registered to me to pick up some dope on the way”.
‘Someone who commits a crime wants to stay under the radar as much as possible, not taking chances that they will draw further attention to themselves in a back street in Leyton.
‘[Mohamed] could have come to his house the following morning or the previous day.’
Mohamed told jurors he did not ‘personally know who Amir Khan was’ but Hamza Kulane, who was at the same table, explained that he was a former champion boxer.
He saw fans taking selfies with Mr Khan and he has accepted he told Bana on the phone that Mr Khan was in the restaurant with him.
Mohamed claimed when he spoke to Bana on the phone he was asking if he had any weed.
‘Gunman’ Dante Campbell, 21, ran at Mr Khan outside the restaurant and yelled at him to ‘take off the watch’, Snaresbrook Crown Court (Khan pictured outside) heard. Campbell and Ahmed Bana, 25, have admitted conspiracy to rob and possession of an imitation firearm. Nurul Amin and Ismail Mohamed, both 25, both deny conspiracy to commit robbery
Speaking to the Jury, Mr Evans said: ‘You can see it, as plain as day, on the streets of London. A man pointing a gun at the head of another man. This was perpetrated against a man who is famous. It was perpetrated against a man who has wealth, and had part of his wealth, and had part of that wealth on his hand’ (pictured, Amir Khan and wife Faryal in January this year)
He denied he was talking to Bana about robbing Mr Khan and telling him the former world boxing champion had a ‘nice spangly watch on his wrist’.
Mr Khan, who now lives in Dubai, has told the court he was left staring down the barrel of a gun in front of his screaming wife on April 18 last year.
‘I am a sportsman, a fighter, I have been put in the toughest situations but this is something different, this is really really scary,’ he said.
‘When he put the gun to my face I couldn’t recognise him because he had a mask on. I looked away because I didn’t want him to pull the trigger.
‘I didn’t know what he wanted at first, then he said take off your watch. When he said “take off your watch” that’s when he hit me straight away.
‘I took it off straight away and that’s when I handed it to him.’
Campbell, of Hornsey, and Bana, of Tottenham, have admitted conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.
Amin, of Cavendish Road, Finsbury Park, and Mohamed, of Edmonton, both deny conspiracy to commit robbery.
Khan and Makhdoom married in New York in 2013 and have three children.
The trial continues.
