Boxing champion Amir Khan has told of the terrifying moment he was robbed of his £72,000 diamond-encrusted watch at gunpoint.
Mr Khan, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, gave evidence at court today to describe how he was confronted by a gunman after he left a restaurant in London in April last year.
The 36 year-old had been dining with his wife Faryal Makhdoom and his friend Omar Khalid at the Sahara Grill in Leyton, east London.
He told the court how the gunman approached him and demanded he hand over his £72,000 Franck Muller Vanguard Chronograph watch.
Four men accused of carrying out the robbery are now on trial.
Amir Khan, 36, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, arriving at Snaresbrook Crown Court to give evidence
The former boxing world champion was robbed of his diamond-encrusted watch at gunpoint as he left a restaurant with his wife Faryal Makhdoom, 31, (right), the court heard yesterday
Ahmed Bana, Nurul Amin and Ismail Mohammed, all 25, deny conspiracy to commit robbery while jurors heard Dante Campbell, 21, previously admitted to being the gunman.
Recalling the day of the robbery, Mr Khan said: ‘My wife that day was doing a shoot and me and Omar decided to go out to an area in London. It was Knightsbridge. Doing a bit of shopping, taking a walk, getting some fresh air.
‘[That evening] I spent about an hour in the restaurant. Everything seemed nice and calm, I was taking pictures with fans. Everything seemed cool.’
Mr Khan said he then left the restaurant with his wife.
‘I put my hand on the door handle [of the car] and someone ran towards me and pushed me towards the car and I fell back on the car.
‘Next thing I saw a gun being pointed at my face, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a gun in my face and obviously in the UK.
‘I had to look away, when the gun was put to my face I literally saw down the barrel.
‘I felt really scared. I have three kids, my wife is next to me as well. I was really scared.
‘I am a sportsman, a fighter, I have been put in the toughest situations but this is something different, this is really really scary.
‘When he put the gun to my face I couldn’t recognise him because he had a mask on. I looked away because I didn’t want him to pull the trigger.
Mr Khan was targeted for his £72,000 Franck Muller Vanguard Chronograph as he dined with Faryal and friend Omar Khalid at the Sahara Grill in Leyton, east London
He will describe to the court how he was confronted by a gunman after he left a restaurant in London in April last year
CCTV footage previously played to jurors showed the moment Mr Khan was robbed of his watch
‘I didn’t know what he wanted at first, then he said take off your watch. When he said “take off your watch” that’s when he hit me straight away.
‘I took it off straight away and that’s when I handed it to him.
‘It must have been seconds, must have been around about five to 10 seconds when he pushed me to the car and asked for me to take off the watch.
‘I remember taking it off, looking down and just handing it over, because, when someone puts a gun to your face, I just looked away and handed it over.
‘At that time I remember another person on my right in front of the car, so he wasn’t alone because I remember when he ran away there was not one but two people running away.
‘After the watch was given to them I see them run off and that’s when a couple of people ran across from the restaurant to see what was happening.
‘I could see my wife screaming and crying.
‘I quickly went to her. I didn’t really want to be there, things were getting busy and people were gathering around. I know a lot of people in the area. I didn’t want to be a victim I just wanted to get away.
‘Someone said they called the police and were on their way and I thought I can’t leave now. The police took me aside to talk to me.’
Describing how close he was to the barrel of the gun, Mr Khan gestured with his hand just a foot away from his face.
He said: ‘[He was] very close. Yeah, a foot from my face and I remember looking at the gun barrel right there.
‘I was quite happy they had left and run away and people were coming towards me. That gave me a little bit of comfort. When I went to my wife to see if she was okay I did feel a little safer.’
Amir Khan and his wife Faryal Makhdoom at Indigo at the O2 in London in 2019
Mr Khan waves to reporters as he arrives at Snaresbrook Crown Court today for the trial
Mr Khan confirmed he has never seen the watch again after that night.
He told the court: ‘The watch was given to me after a fight, a boxing fight, which I won.
‘Must have been about a year old given by a company called Frost of London who have a contract with Franck Muller.’
Mr Khan confirmed it was a rose-gold diamond encrusted watch he estimated to be worth between £60,000 to £70,000 and a custom piece.
CCTV footage played to jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court showed Mr Khan and his wife dining at the restaurant before the robbery.
Amin and Mohammed were said to be ‘spotters’ who sat at a table a few feet away from the couple and Mr Khalid.
Mohammed took a phone call in the restaurant, with records suggesting it was from Bana.
As the Khans left the restaurant, Amir stopped to greet some people outside.
CCTV shows the former light-welterweight world champion leaving the restaurant and the moment Campbell ran at him.
Campbell gets out of a Mercedes driven by Bana with an unknown male.
Philip Evans KC, prosecuting, said: ‘You can see Campbell waving a gun at Mr Khan and his wife.’
In the second day of the trial, Mr Evans said a balaclava and black sports gloves were found in Amin’s bedroom.
He said it matched ‘exactly’ the clothing worn by one of the males seen on CCTV.
Bana and Amin were both arrested on 22 June 2022 while Mohammed was arrested on 20 July.
During interview Mohammed told police: ‘I went to Sahara Grill Restaurant with Nurul Amin and Hamza Kulane as it was Ramadan and they wanted to break fast.
‘Whilst in the restaurant we noticed people taking photographs with someone in the restaurant.
‘I did not know who the man was but found out from the others that he was a pro boxer Amir Khan.
‘Others had posted Snapchat stories of being in there with Amir Khan.
‘When we finished eating we wanted to smoke a joint so went to Nurul’s car to park up on a side road so that we could smoke. At this time I did not know anyone had been robbed.
‘It is only later when I met with Ahmed that I found out what happened, but Ahmed told me he had nothing to do with the robbery.
‘I did not have any involvement in a plan to rob. I did not agree anyone should be robbed and I certainly did not call Ahmed or anyone to come and rob any person.’
Jurors were told Campbell, of Hornsey has admitted conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.
Bana, of Hale Gardens, Tottenham, Amin, of Cavendish Road, Finsbury Park, and Mohammed, of Edmonton, all deny conspiracy to commit robbery.
Bana also denies having an imitation firearm.
The trial continues.
