Yorkshire man tracks down his stolen £5,000 watch - but says police won't help him get it back

Luke Stares, 34, listed his Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra on Facebook Marketplace in November 2023. He was approached by a man who came to collect it - and appeared to make a £5,000 bank transfer while at Luke's house.

But when the money didn't arrive Luke realised he had been scammed - and called police who said it was a civil matter, he claims.

Furious Luke combed eBay and Facebook until he found it for sale a few weeks later on Marketplace - listed by a jeweller in Portsmouth. When he called them they claimed it had been passed to a jeweller in Hatton Garden - and Luke found his watch listed on the shop's website.

Luke is now trying to get it back himself - but claims the London jeweller has now given the watch back to the person who they bought it off. Despite knowing who allegedly has his stolen watch, his local police are refusing to get involved, he claims.

Action Fraud say they haven't asked the London force to look into it either.

Gun shop owner 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 called Hampshire Police because I found the watch in Portsmouth they told me it wasn't their crime and to contact West Yorkshire Police. West Yorkshire Police told me to contact Action Fraud who told me they have no power to get the watch back."

Luke listed his Omega watch on Facebook Marketplace for £5,350. After six months with no offers, Luke got a message from a 'James' on February 27.

Luke said: "He asked if the watch was still available and we agreed a price of £5,000. He picked the watch up later that night, he asked all the right questions - he seemed to know what he was talking about. They entered my bank details into their Metro banking app and showed that the payment was being processed."

After an hour or so, 'James' left Luke's house and he was "frantically" checking his banking app but with no luck. The following day, Luke checked and there was still no money in his account.

He said: "The guy answered my call and told me he had phoned the bank and there were a few extra checks. I then got cold feet 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 called West Yorkshire Police - who he says told him it was a civil claim.

"Once I realised it was a scam I called 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 later, he found his watch for sale on Facebook Marketplace by a jewellery in Portsmouth for £5,950 and got his friend to contact the seller and ask for more pictures.

He contacted the jeweller - who said they had bought it from a business in Hatton Garden - and sent it back to London when they got Luke's call. Luke says he tracked the watch down to a dealer in Hatton Garden, London.

He claims the Hatton Garden dealer has told him that he has now given the 'stolen' watch back to the person he bought it from.

Since, Luke has been back to the police who said it was a matter for Action Fraud but they told him that they have no power to act.

West Yorkshire Police said it can not comment because Luke is not able to produce a crime reference number - but Luke said police didn't give him one because they told him it is a civil matter.

Pauline Smith, head of Action Fraud, said: "Action Fraud can confirm that it received NFRC240206497887 on 28 February 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."

The Hatton Garden dealer said claims were "slander" when approached for comment.