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Hong Kong Police on Monday provided an update on the HK$7 million ($892,906) gold robbery case, announcing that six more suspects have been arrested, bringing the total number of arrests to 13, and thanked Shenzhen authorities for helping detain and hand over four suspects, Shenzhen Media Group reported on Monday.
A gold robbery involving six gold bars worth about HK$7 million occurred at Hong Kong International Airport in the early hours of last Thursday. Hong Kong Police reported on Monday that, in addition to the four men and three women previously arrested, officers carried out further operations from Saturday to Monday and arrested another five men and one woman, aged between 16 and 25, with some suspected of having triad backgrounds. Among them, four fled to Chinese mainland after the incident and were later arrested by police in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, before being handed over to Hong Kong authorities, chinanews.com reported on Monday.
The Hong Kong Police said the six arrested individuals in this case played roles throughout the criminal operation, including the mastermind behind the operation, an insider responsible for leaking information, armed robbers who carried out the robbery at the scene, and members who purchased the knives used in the crime, chinanews.com reported.
Hong Kong Police believe that the vast majority of the syndicate’s key members have been arrested, with eight suspects charged and appearing in Shatin Magistrates’ Court. Police are continuing to trace the gold bars, and further arrests have not been ruled out, the police said, according to chinanews.com.
A 36-year-old Hong Kong man, who was hired by a mainland businessman, was ambushed by three masked knife-wielding suspects at Hong Kong International Airport early last Thursday while transporting six gold bars from Indonesia to Hong Kong. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was hospitalized in stable condition, while the attackers fled in a getaway vehicle with the gold, according to chinanews.com.
Hong Kong police disclosed on Saturday that seven people had been arrested in connection with the premeditated gold robbery, including masterminds and accomplices. Charges include conspiracy to rob and related offenses. Hong Kong police believed the case was not a random robbery but a premeditated crime, with clear evidence that inside information had been leaked, suggesting possible insider involvement or that the perpetrators were acquaintances.
Global Times
