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A robber who stabbed a man and left him with life-changing injuries after posing as the buyer of luxury Rolex watches on Facebook marketplace has been caught thanks to live facial recognition cameras. Adenola Akindutire, 22, attacked Sahil Sahil for his £13,300 timepiece after arranging to meet in Hillingdon, west London. He produced a large knife and slashed Mr Sahil, in his 30s, who suffered severe wounds in Hayes on January 10. Akindutire then fled the scene and hid in Ireland. While still wanted by the Metropolitan Police, he travelled back to the United Kingdom using fake documentation, before walking past the LFR cameras set up in Stratford on April 15. When finally stopped Akindutire distorted his voice and produced false identity documents but officers were able to reveal his true identity. As part of enquiries, detectives also linked him to a similar incident which had taken place in December last year. He had robbed victim James Bland for his £15,000 Rolex watch in Bexleyheath. At Isleworth Crown Court on Wednesday Akindutire, of no fixed address, was sentenced to eight years and six months’ imprisonment having pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted robbery, grievous bodily harm, possession of a bladed article and having a false identity document. The Met said without LFR technology, Akindutire may have remained at large, posing a continued threat to the public. Detective Constable Jonathan Mitchell, who led the investigation, added: “This is Live Facial Recognition in action and shows how our use of this technology is making London safer. “Akindutire had been wanted for a number of months before the cameras caught up with him. “The violent offender will now spend the next eight years behind bars, reflecting on his actions. “I hope this sentence provides a sense of justice to the victim, while showing the value in this tool in protecting the public from harm.” LFR, described by Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley as a “game-changing tool”, has led to more than 1,400 arrests so far this year.
