A former national-level athlete has been arrested for robbery, a news website reports. The unnamed man robbed a woman of her handbag earlier this month in Xian by coming up behind her while riding a motorcycle, Hsw.cn reported. The woman was dragged behind the motorcycle for about 600 meters. Thick as thieves: Chinese armed robber caught because bag of stolen cash was so heavy he couldn’t make his getaway The suspect was familiar with the district and initially evaded capture but a 47-year-old man was later discovered in the east gate of a community in Beichen Avenue, where he was arrested by police. The man was reported to had taken drugs for about 20 years. He had been arrested once before for stealing and had been ordered to attend drug treatment programmes many times, according to the police investigation. Subway snatch thief caught after he drops own phone while making off with iPhone A policeman was quoted as saying the man had extraordinary strength and it took four policemen to subdue him. In his confession, the suspect said he started judo in 1983 and later took up wrestling also. He represented Shanxi province in Chinese national wrestling competitions in 1987 and 1988 but later retired due to injuries. He said he started to commit crimes after getting involved with drug taking.