South Wales man who stole Rolex identified using facial recognition technology

A south Wales man who stole a Rolex watch has been jailed after officers were able to identify him using facial recognition technology.

Andreas Lee, 41 from Llanrumney was sentenced to six weeks in prison for theft at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday (August 13).

Officers were driving down Bute Street in Cardiff in the early hours of January 17, 2024, when they were flagged down by a man.

The theft took place at an unknown address around the Bute Street area where the victim was punched and had his watch and Smart Wallet stolen.

The victim then walked back towards the underpass of the railway tracks on Bute Street in search of the person who took his watch.

Jailed

Officers sourced a CCTV still of the suspect and Retrospective Facial Recognition Technology identified Andreas Lee.

The technology compares still images of faces of unknown subjects against a reference image database in order to identify them.

Azake Abakar, 32 from Cathays was also jailed as a result of the investigation.

He received twelve weeks in prison for assault and theft at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday August 13.

Officer in the case, Detective Constable Stephen Jenkins, from South Wales Police said: “South Wales Police is committed to tackling violent crime and reducing the numbers of victims and perpetrators, but we need people to really think about their actions and lifestyle and what may be causing them to become violent”