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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Paul Britton

Police issue photo of £70,000 watch stolen at gunpoint from former world boxing champion Amir Khan

This is the custom-made, gem-encrusted £70,000 watch stolen at gunpoint from the wrist of former world boxing champion Amir Khan in front of his wife in London. Police in the capital released the image as they issued an appeal for witnesses to the robbery to come forward.

Officers also want to hear from anyone offered the 'easily recognisable' timepiece for sale. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the 'high-value' Franck Muller watch was valued at around £70,000 and said they fear it could be offered for sale on the black market at a discounted price.

Bolton-born Khan, 35, said he and his wife, Faryal, were robbed at gunpoint by two men in Leyton, east London, earlier this week after a dinner at a restaurant. Officers were called at just after 9pm on Monday to High Road. They said no shots were fired and nobody was injured in the attack.

There have been no arrests as of Thursday afternoon. Detective Constable Ben Grix, of the Met's North East Command burglary and robbery team, said: "I am today releasing an image of the stolen watch which is a high-value Franck Muller timepiece valued at around £70,000.

"It is a one-off custom made design and will be easily recognised by anyone it is offered to for sale. If you, or anyone you know is offered the watch at a discounted price please contact us immediately."

The custom-made Franck Muller watch (PA)

He added: “If you were driving in the area around High Road, Leyton, at the time of the offence and have dashcam, please do check your footage for anything that might assist our investigation."

Detailing the robbery on Twitter, Khan revealed 'two men' confronted him and 'asked for my watch' after he and his wife had walked across the road to their car following the meal. He said his wife Faryal, 30, was not directly involved in the incident as she 'was a few steps behind'.

"Just had my watch taken off me at gun point in East London, Leyton," Khan tweeted on Monday evening. "I crossed the road with Faryal, luckily she was few steps behind me. Two men ran to me, he asked for my watch whilst having a gun pointed in my face. The main thing is we're both safe."

It came as Khan, the former WBA and IBF light-welterweight champion and an Olympic silver medallist, criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan for failing to tackle crime in the capital, urging him to 'pull his finger out'.

Amir and his wife Faryal (BBC/Matthew Rycraft)

The boxer told MailOnline: "My plan was to move to London later this year with Faryal and the kids but after what happened there’s no chance that we’ll be doing that. London is not a place I want to live in anymore. Our plan to move there is not happening."

A spokesperson for the mayor said: "The mayor is appalled at what happened to Amir Khan and urges anyone with any information to come forward as soon as possible. Overall, crime continues to fall in London, bucking the national trend, with knife crime with injury down by 12 per cent, gun crime down by 29 per cent and burglary down by 22 per cent since May 2016.

"However there's still a long way to go. Keeping people safe in London remains the mayor’s number one priority and he is taking action by being both tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime."

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