The smoking gun: Cable thief arrested after DNA found on cigarette butts
Man linked to scene of cable theft as police match crime scene sample to database
DNA evidence gathered from cigarette butts has led to the arrest of a suspected thief in Pat Heung, three months after the crime.
The 35-year-old was picked up at his village house on Kam Po Road yesterday on suspicion of stealing 1.5km of cable worth HK$250,000, police said.
The cable was stolen from a duct under the Tsing Yi Road West flyover outside Cheung Hong Estate in Tsing Yi.
The Kwai Tsing district crime squad had been investigating the theft since March 3.
"Because of the weight of the cable, we believe three or four robbers were involved and a delivery van was used," a police officer said.
Police seized discarded cigarette butts outside and inside the duct. "We believe the butts were left behind by the thieves. They were then taken for a DNA test," the officer said.