Gang who robbed Mark Cavendish at knifepoint ordered to repay £750,000 for stolen watches

A gang of robbers who broke into Sir Mark Cavendish’s family home, repeatedly punching the former professional cyclist and threatening him with a knife, before taking more than £750,000 worth of items — including two high-value Richard Mille watches — have been ordered to repay the value of their haul or face a further six years added to each of their sentences.

Romario Henry, Ali Sesay and Jo Jobson raided the property in Ongar, in Essex, on the night of 27 November 2021, Cavendish and his family woken as the masked robbers sought high-value watches and other items.

Cavendish was repeatedly punched and threatened with a “zombie knife” during the ordeal, the British cycling great at the time recovering from suffering broken ribs and a punctured lung in a crash at the Ghent Six Day.

Henry, Sesay and Jobson were jailed for between 12 and 15 years (Sesay also getting an additional eight years for six firearms offences unrelated to the Cavendish case) and have been told they will get an extra six years added to each of their sentences unless they repay £754,525 in relation to the robbery, the BBC has reported.

The gang stole two Richard Mille watches valued at £400,000 and £350,000, as well as three mobile phones worth a total of £2,325, an empty safe and a £2,200 Louis Vuitton suitcase.

If they do not repay the total within three months the sentences will be extended by six years each. Explaining the decision, judge Alexander Mills said the gang had taken “joint control” of the haul and “obtained the benefit that flowed” from the robbery.

Despite Henry claiming the watches were not sold, they were “never located at the scene and have not been seen since”.

“I don’t accept it was inevitable that they were sold,” the judge said, pointing out their value would not decrease with time and that even unsold they are a “store of wealth”.

> “If you get a knife held to your neck, you can’t do anything”: Mark Cavendish recounts “zombie knife” burglars who made him feel “helpless” in front of wife and kids

A total of £1,897 has also been ordered to be paid to Cavendish as compensation, while Mrs Cavendish has also been ordered to receive £3,359 compensation too. An unspecified amount to a company that leased the watches has also been ordered.

Judge Mills said the total could be paid by any of the defendants.

The court also heard Jobson was paid £4,000 to take part and had been “promised a further £6,000 on completion”, although “this was never paid to him”. Sesay owned a £1,000 Mercedes and had £24,740 in cash, while Henry had no assets.

The amount of money in Jobson’s bank account was unspecified and was seized along with Sesay’s goods. Henry and Sesay were jailed for 15 and 12 years respectively back in 2023, while Jobson was later jailed for 15 years also. 

At Henry and Sesay’s sentencing, the judge called their actions “planned, targeted, orchestrated, ruthless offending aimed at an internationally known sportsman”.

In a statement read to the court, Cavendish said the idea of it happening to anyone else is “horrifying” and the robbery had caused psychological trauma.

Jurors had heard how the balaclava-wearing robbers had threatened to “stab him [Cavendish] up” in front of his children and a post-court statement released by the couple said the incident was something “no family should ever have to go through”.

“I get flashbacks all the time. To have a zombie knife held up to your throat in front of your kid?” Cavendish said earlier this year. “It was horrific. You think about what you could have done [differently]. Everyone thinks, ‘I’d fight’. And of course I was swinging at first. But I tell you, anybody gets a knife held to their neck, you can’t do anything. Like, my wife’s there, my kid. I was helpless to do anything.

“Far worse to be taken was the sense of security, safety, privacy and dignity that my young family and everybody else is entitled to in their own home. The effect that this nightmare has had on my family is already heart-breakingly evident.

“To be fair, I’m lucky because I was there. I’m happier I was there than if it happened to Peta and the kids when I was away. I would never have forgiven myself. They were looking for a [particular] watch that didn’t even belong to me. I had borrowed it for something. The GQ awards or something. And then I’d given it back.”