A Wakefield gun shop owner who had to turn into an amateur sleuth to locate his stolen luxury Omega watch has claimed that police are refusing to help him in retrieving it.
Luke Stares, 34, put his Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra up for sale on Facebook Marketplace in November 2023. He was contacted by a man who came to pick it up and seemed to make a £5,000 bank transfer while at Luke’s residence.
However, when the money didn’t appear, Luke realised he had been duped and contacted the police, who told him it was a civil matter, he alleges. Luke scoured eBay and Facebook until he found it listed for sale a few weeks later on Marketplace – by a jeweller in Portsmouth.
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When he contacted them, they said it had been handed over to a jeweller in Hatton Garden, and Luke discovered his watch listed on the shop’s website. Luke is now attempting to retrieve it himself but claims the London jeweller has returned the watch to the person they purchased it from.
Despite allegedly knowing who has his stolen watch, he claims his local police are declining to intervene. Action Fraud also stated they haven’t requested the London force to investigate.
Luke, from Featherstone, said: “I am a shop keeper myself so it was a bit of a blow – I was embarrassed. I kept an eye on eBay and Facebook Marketplace and a few weeks later I found my watch on sale on Facebook.”
“I got my friend to message the man selling it to get more pictures and there it was – that was my watch.”
“When I found the watch, I rang Hampshire Police because I discovered the watch in Portsmouth. They told me it wasn’t their crime and to get in touch with West Yorkshire Police.”
“West Yorkshire Police instructed me to contact Action Fraud who informed me they have no power to retrieve the watch.” Luke put his Omega watch up for sale on Facebook Marketplace for £5,350. After half a year without any offers, Luke received a message from a ‘James’ on February 27.
(Image: © Luke Stares SWNS)
Luke said: “He enquired if the watch was still up for grabs and we settled on a price of £5000. He collected the watch later that night, he asked all the right questions – he seemed knowledgeable about watches.”
“They input my bank details into their Metro banking app and showed that the payment was underway.” After an hour or so, ‘James’ left Luke’s house and he was “frantically” checking his banking app but to no avail.
The next day, Luke checked and there was still no money in his account. He said: “The bloke answered my call and told me he had contacted the bank and there were a few additional checks. I then got suspicious and called Metro Bank to ask what colour scheme their banking app was – and it was different to the one the man showed me.”
He rang West Yorkshire Police – who he says told him it was a civil claim. “Once I realised it was a scam I rang the police who told me it was a civil matter and to contact Action Fraud,” he said. Luke said he wasn’t “satisfied” with the police response and took matters into his own hands.
Four weeks after losing his prized possession, he unexpectedly found his watch being sold for £5,950 on Facebook Marketplace by a jewellery store based in Portsmouth. To confirm it was his lost item, Luke had a friend approach the seller for more pictures.
Upon discovering the familiar wristwatch, Luke got in touch with the jeweller who then informed him that the watch was purchased from a business located in Hatton Garden. The jewellers promptly sent the timepiece back to London after receiving Luke’s call for its immediate retrieval.
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In pursuit of his stolen asset, Luke was able to trace the watch to a dealer nestled in the heart of Hatton Garden, London. At this point, however, he claims he was told by the said dealer that the ‘stolen’ piece had already been returned to the original seller.
Luke turned yet again to the police force only to be told the matter should be addressed to Action Fraud, an agency that professed having no legal jurisdiction over such matters.
The case became even more complicated when West Yorkshire Police refused to remark on this incident, citing Luke’s inability to provide a crime reference number. However, as per Luke, the police hadn’t issued him one on the grounds of considering it a civil issue rather than a criminal one.
Action Frauds leader, Pauline Smith, disclosed: “Action Fraud can confirm that it received NFRC240206497887 on February 28 2024. It was assessed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) at the City of London Police but has not been passed to a police force for investigation at this time.
“With more than 850,000 reports coming into the NFIB each year, not all cases can be passed on for further investigation. Reports are assessed against a number of criteria which include the vulnerability of the victim.”
“However, the reports most likely to present an investigative opportunity for local police forces, those where a crime is ongoing and those that present the greatest threat and harm to the victim or victims concerned, are the ones that are prioritised.” When approached for comment, the Hatton Garden dealer dismissed the allegations as “slander”.
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