Man denies being getaway driver in £1m watch raid

A man accused of driving a getaway car used in a £1.38m watch robbery has told a court he had never seen his co-defendant until a video of him was shared on social media.

Mannix Pedro, 37, and Junior Kunu, 30, deny conspiring with others to commit a robbery in which more than 70 luxury watches were stolen from the 247 Kettles shop in Richmond, south-west London, in May last year.

Office manager Oliver White, 27, took his own life the following day "as a direct result" of the robbery, jurors have heard.

Giving evidence at Woolwich Crown Court, Mr Pedro insisted he had never met Mr Kunu before their trial and first saw him when a video of the alleged robbery "was going around on social media".

Two other men said to have been involved - Michael Ashman and Kyle Bowrage - are still at large, having fled abroad soon after the robbery on 25 May, the court has heard. The watches have not been recovered.

Mr Pedro, 37, told the court he knew Mr Ashman and Mr Bowrage - Mr Ashman since summer 2023 and Mr Bowrage since early 2024.

The defendant told jurors he and Mr Ashman had worked together selling vapes containing THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis.

Mr Pedro, of Cobham, also told the court he ran an informal car brokerage, helping people with poor credit scores or county court judgments against them to get rental agreements via a "loophole in the system".

The prosecution alleges that Mr Pedro, who had driven hundreds of miles in the evening after the robbery, was involved in driving a getaway car.

Two days before the raid, three men visited 247 Kettles to view watches under the guise of being interested in making a purchase after arranging the appointment on Instagram, the court has previously heard.

Edward Brown KC, prosecuting, said this visit was either an "aborted robbery" or a "recce" for the operation on 25 May.

The prosecution alleges the defendants played different roles in the plot, with Mr Kunu, of Mitcham in south-west London, accused of entering the premises to carry out the robbery, while Mr Pedro was "closely involved in the planning and execution".

The trial continues.

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