A robber and his two accomplices escaped from a crowd of pursuers in central Athens yesterday by scattering in their wake the luxury watches they had just stolen.

The three men entered a Rolex store near Syntagma Square posing as customers yesterday morning. Once the assistant began showing them the watches, one of the men pulled out a gun and the other two grabbed handfuls of the expensive timepieces, police said. The total value of the watches stolen is not yet known.

The gang made off on foot, each member in a different direction, but the shop assistant alerted passers-by, who began chasing one of the men. In a bid to get rid of his pursuers, the thief started throwing the thousand-euro watches he had stolen behind him. The diversion tactic worked wonders, and all three robbers managed to escape. Police said that, so far, they had no leads on the men’s identities.