One Nigerian-born music manager named Emmanuel Odunlami was murdered in the United Kingdom after celebrating his birthday with a designer watch worth up to £300,000. According to reports, Odunlami was stabbed to death in London by three robbers who were tipped off about his expensive Patek Philippe Nautilus watch by a security operator named Kavindu Hettiarachchi.
The incident occurred after Odunlami held a birthday party on May 1, 2022, at the Haz restaurant near St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London. The security team for the private ticketed brunch and afterparty was hired by the event’s organizer, Playhxuse, and Hettiarachchi was a vital member of the team. As part of his role, Hettiarachchi was supposed to protect the safety of the attendees, including Odunlami, but instead, he informed the robbers about Odunlami's valuable watch.
During a recent court session at the Old Bailey in London, Duncan Atkinson KC, the prosecutor, revealed that Hettiarachchi was seen on camera calling Louis Vandross, who is believed to be one of the robbers, after the event. It was then that Vandross and Jordell Menzies were driven by Quincy Ffrench in a white Mercedes with altered number plates from north-west London to carry out the robbery at the Haz restaurant, where Hettiarachchi was working and had summoned them.
The security operator had filmed Odunlami wearing his high-value watch and appeared to type something into his phone, allegedly to make the other defendants aware of Odunlami and his watch, so they could rob him of the valuable item.
During the court session, Atkinson noted that while the watch might not have been genuine, the robbers treated it as though it were. He also emphasized the role Hettiarachchi played in the incident, saying, “It was part of his role to protect the safety of those, like Mr. Odunlami, who were attending the event. In fact, he did the opposite.”
The prosecutor argued that Vandross, Menzies, and Ffrench were setting off in a car with a disguised registration to carry out the robbery, and their target was Odunlami and his watch. Sadly, their plan succeeded, resulting in the tragic death of Emmanuel Odunlami.
