‘Rolex ripper’ jailed for robbing pensioner of £15,000 watch by trying to hug him in street

Hampshire Police are said to be investigating more than 30 similar thefts in their county alone

Tinica was jailed for 40 months after she admitted robbery and attempted robbery (Cheshire Constabulary)

A woman thought to be a part of a crime gang dubbed the ‘Rolex rippers’ has been arrested for stealing a £15,000 watch from a pensioner.

Stefania Tinica, 40, stole the designer item from the 75-year-old after trying to hug him in the street in Dorset last January.

She pleaded guilty to robbery and attempted robbery and was jailed for 40 months at Chester Crown Court.

The robbery took place near Parkstone Golf Club in Poole, Dorset, where Tinica stopped the pensioner.

He then saw her get into a car and soon realised his £15,930 Rolex Submariner timepiece watch was missing.

Tinica and an accomplice also tried to rob another pensioner of his £10,000 Rolex Submariner using the same method in Cheshire, but he managed to break free and the pair fled.

She is thought to be a part of an organised crime gang of mostly Eastern European women who are believed to have carried out similar thefts across southern England last year.

Thefts took place in Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, Surrey and Gloucestershire, amongst other locations.

In December, Hampshire Police reported that they were investigating more than 30 similar incidents in the county.

In most cases, victims were older men wearing designer watches.

Police identified Tinica from CCTV footage from one of the robberies and she was arrested last November at Luton Airport.

Tinica’s victim in the Dorset attack, Alan Bruce, said he considered himself lucky now she has been caught. The stolen watch was never recovered.

“The insurance company were great and the police were very good too but I’m p***** off I lost the watch,” he said.

“I wore it every day, it was sentimental to me… I’ve been to every shop imaginable trying to find one and they just looked at me like I was an idiot.

“I’m definitely more wary now, the place where it happened was the last place you would expect it, it’s a very quiet road,” he added.