Two men cleared of being 'spotters' in Amir Khan gunpoint robbery of diamond watch

Two men have been cleared of being “spotters” in the plot to rob former world boxing champion Amir Khan of his £70,000 diamond-encrusted watch at gunpoint.

The 2004 Olympic silver medallist, 36, was targeted as he and his wife, Faryal Makhdoom, 31, left the Sahara Grill restaurant in Leyton on April 18 last year.

Ismail Mohamed, 24, of Edmonton, and Nurul Amin, 25, of Harringay were accused of plotting an ambush with others in which Khan was forced to hand over his bespoke rose gold diamond-encrusted Franck Muller watch by gunman Dante Campbell, 20.

Mohamed and Amin denied conspiracy to rob and were unanimously acquitted by a jury at east London’s Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday

Mohamed and Amin were accused of dining at the Sahara Grill to keep track of Mr Khan’s movements and relay them by phone to Ahmed Bana, 25.

Campbell and Bana, who drove the robbers to and from the scene in a silver Mercedes coupe, have admitted their roles in the plot.

Mohamed said Bana arranged with him to come to meet the group to buy cannabis but denied he alerted anyone from the restaurant that Mr Khan was there, and told the jury he had simply been scrolling through social media.

He told jurors he had not heard of Mr Khan before accompanying his friends to the restaurant to break their Ramadan fast.

Mohamed and Amin were at the restaurant with another man called Hamza Kulane, who was not on trial. Mohamed said that it was Kulane who pointed out that Mr Khan was at the restaurant when some sports fans spotted him and posed for photographs.

Mohamed said he then told Bana about the sportsman’s presence during a phone call.

On why a gunman later turned up at the scene, he told the court: “I do not know why he came. I do not know him.

“I do not know the reason he came over. I do not have his number.”

Rabah Kherbane, for Mohamed, said he gave “frank honest evidence” and on CCTV played in court “you can see he’s not a spotter”.

He said “they were legitimately out for dinner and you can see that on CCTV”, and “were eating dinner and they weren’t involved” in the robbery.

He added: “Most of us sitting in a restaurant use our phones. Most of us flick through the internet. It’s just so ridiculous to have to answer to using your phone when you’re in a restaurant.”

The robbery, which lasted just seconds, was captured on CCTV which has been played to the jury.

Khan, who was a unified world champion at light-welterweight, said he looked into the handgun’s barrel when the robber pointed it in his face and told him: “Take off the watch.”

In a closing speech, Zacharias Miah, for Amin, who did not give evidence in the trial, said: “We say categorically on his behalf that the prosecution’s case does not exist against Mr Amin. It is so weak that it does not exist at all.”

There were no calls between Amin and Bana, Campbell or the third man who was alleged to have been part of the plot or any forensic evidence linking Amin to the watch or gun.

If the defendants were part of the plot then they were “the worst spotters in the world”, according to Mr Miah.

In a statement provided on behalf of Amin outside court, one of his solicitors Shah Mashud, of HSR Solicitors, said: “I would like to thank my legal team for supporting me throughout this case and helping me for my name to be cleared. I would like to thank Zacharias Miah, my barrister, and my solicitors Harry Rana and Shah Mashud.”

Campbell, of Hornsey, and Bana, of Tottenham have admitted conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.

They will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

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