Londoners are being warned that criminal gangs are targeting them for their favourite luxury items, with Canada Goose coats, Brompton Bikes, Rolex watches and AirPods all on ‘lists’ used by thieves.
Theft of high end goods in the capital has soared in recent years resulting in innocent passers-by being tackled to the ground on the streets and robbed.
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Trendy foldable Brompton bikes – that range anywhere form £1,294 to £4,745 – are amongst the top cycles on the hit list, with pricey S-works and Pinarello bikes, that can cost up to £13,000, also being targeted.
Thugs have been hiding in park bushes and stalking riders on mopeds before launching brazen attacks shocking riders.
The rise led to the Met Police warning that Albanian gangs are taking the bikes from UK streets before sending them to Russia to be sold. Keen cyclists as a result have been covering up their bike’s logos and considering cheaper alternatives.
In the capital, thefts of electric bikes and scooters have soared with 2,368 stolen in the year from June 2022. Tower Hamlets topped the charts with 373 cases reported while Hackney recorded 299.
It follows a recent spate of muggings from pedestrians wearing Canada Goose coats, which can cost as much as £1,700. Some people wearing the coats have seen their cars smashed into and even threatened at knife point.
A Transport for London chief warned youngsters travelling on the Tube were being targeted for Canada Goose and North Face coats, with an 83 per cent rise in the number of thefts recorded from 2,935 in 2022 to 5,378 in 2023.
According to the Transport for London security chief AirPod earphones and smartphones are also among the items being stolen from travellers on the Tube
Canada Goose coats are amongst the luxury items being targeted across London
The most recent warning comes amid a surge in violent bike thefts, with 768 incidents being recorded in a single year period from November 2022 in London.
One Canada Goose victim had his face slashed by two hooded thugs who tried to steal one of the coveted coats in broad daylight at a Kent train station. He shared a video of himself in hospital with a scar warning other fashionistas.
Captioning the video, ‘don’t die for Canada Goose’, he implored his followers to be careful while wearing the plush jackets.
In October, a young woman filmed herself confronting a man clad in a Canada Goose coat at a train station. She claimed he had ‘stolen’ it from the outside storage facility at her flat.
Other youngsters travelling on the London Underground have been approached by gangs for other luxury garments and headphones while travelling – with crime on the network being up 56 per cent in the last year.
AirPod earphones and smartphones are among the items being snatched from tube links.
Transport for London’s director of compliance, policing, operations and security, Siwan Haward previously said last month: ‘What is being stolen? Airpods, phones and – we are at risk of seeing an increase in robbery because of this – branded coats.
In December, a man claimed he had been slashed in the face with a knife while being mugged for his coat and shared a video of himself in hospital with a scar. Captioning the video, ‘don’t die for Canada Goose’, he implored his followers to be careful whilst wearing the plush jackets
In October, a young woman filmed herself confronting a man at a train station who she claimed had ‘stolen’ her Canada Goose coat from the outside storage facility at her flat
‘Canada Goose coats, some North Face – they are targeted for robbery. It’s a real concern to us because it really impacts on the safety of young people on the network.’
She claimed crime on the Tube was now returning to ‘normal’ levels having ‘plummeted’ during the pandemic.
In a bid to crack down on the issue British Transport Police released a ‘beware guide to gadget-grabbers’.
The infographic shows how criminals will sneakily remove a persons phone or tablet from their hands while sleeping, run passed and grab it or remove it while their backs are turned for a second.
It labelled the crooks based on three different methods dubbing the criminals either ‘the grabber’, ‘the plucker’ or ‘the snatcher’.
Meanwhile, there continues to be a rise in thefts of luxury watches in London timepiece dealers admitting the prominence of ‘Rolex Rippers’ in the city is a continued problem.
Watch thieves have held their victims at knife point and threatened them with machetes before taking off with their watches and bags.
Last year an undercover sting operation, saw plain clothed police officers head out to pubs and clubs in Soho, leaving between 11pm and 4am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, to catch the thugs.
Shocking video footage from recent months shows a series of brazen attacks in which thugs knock innocent cyclists off their bikes as well as pinching them from gardens and outside shops
Stolen Bromptons are often shared online by the owner in the hopes that their beloved bike will be returned to them. Pictured: A stolen Brompton
Over two operations, which ran from October 2022 to December 2022 and March 2023 to October 2023, 27 people were arrested and subsequently charged. Of these, 21 were convicted – with 14 sentenced to a total of 26 years in prison.
Yet the type of crime still remains an issue in the capital and may even being be contributing to the collapsing demand for high-end watches.
Major UK retailer Watches of Switzerland has seen its share price drop by 53 per cent this year after announcing it expects revenue to be 10 per cent lower than forecast, while Richemont, owner of Cartier, has said half year sales are down by 17 per cent.
The rise in luxury theft is starting to become a ‘worrying trend’ experts previously told .
After dozens of Canada Goose coats were stolen, David Wilson, a professor criminology at Birmingham City University, said: It could be the start of a new spate of luxury item muggings. You may recall we’ve seen muggings of this sort before.
‘Thieves used to target Rolex watches which go for thousands of pounds and then flog them online because they’re usually stolen to order.
‘I would tell anyone wearing Canada Goose jackets to be careful and be aware of your surroundings and who’s around you. You have to be vigilant for opportunists who might try to steal them.
‘But I would also tell anyone interested in buying knock-offs to use a bit of common sense. Don’t buy luxury items being sold for less than half the price – help break the market.’