Guangzhou authorities return stolen HK goods

Updated at 5.47pm: Guangzhou Customs officers have handed over a batch of goods stolen in the waters near Tuen Mun in February to Hong Kong police, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

The goods included light fittings, mint products, linen, processed food and enamel tiles worth more than $1.8 million. The stolen goods had been stored in seven containers on a barge off the Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal, the spokesman said.

The robbery occurred at about 9pm on February 19 when several robbers broke into the barge and tied up a 52-year-old crewman who had been resting in a cabin. The robbers were believed to have used the crane on board to lift up the containers, the spokesman said.

Investigations showed the robbers then fled by sea.

A 34-year-old man in charge of the barge reported the case to police when he returned to it at about 10pm on the same day.

Hong Kong Police told their counterparts in the mainland about the case. In the early hours of February 20, Guangzhou customs officers discovered the stolen goods in waters off Qa?o Island near Nei Ling Ding Dao in Guangdong.