Hong Kong police arrest 6 suspects over luxury watch heist in major shopping district
- Police say six men arrested for alleged roles in theft of 70 luxury watches worth about HK$13 million (US$1.7 million) from Tse’s Collection store in Causeway Bay
- Getaway car used in the robbery found abandoned in Tsuen Wan on Tuesday, with an air gun believed to have been used in the hold-up seized from the vehicle
Hong Kong police have arrested six men in connection with the theft of 70 luxury watches worth about HK$13 million (US$1.7 million) from a store in a major shopping district last week.
In the early hours of Tuesday, a call to the police’s hotline led officers to the discovery of a getaway car used in the robbery, found abandoned on a hillside at Shing Mun Reservoir in Tsuen Wan.
Chief Inspector Cheung Ka-wing of the Hong Kong Island regional crime unit said an air gun believed to have been used in the hold-up was seized in the car, along with clothes and shoes some of the culprits were allegedly wearing at the time of the heist. A bogus car number plate used in the robbery, a hammer and gloves were also found in the vehicle.
“The air gun’s magazine contained metal pellets,” he said, adding that the weapon would be sent for ballistic tests to determine if they could produce more than the legal limit of two joules in power. In Hong Kong, an air gun that produces more than two joules is considered a firearm under the Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance.
Four of the suspects, all unemployed and aged 20 to 35, were arrested in Causeway Bay and Mong Kok on Sunday.
Cheung said four of the suspects had been charged with robbery and brought to Eastern Court on Tuesday morning, adding that the case was adjourned to November 29 and the four men were remanded in custody.
The force had been searching for a gang of four robbers who raided Tse’s Collection, a ground-floor shop at the junction of Lockhart Road and Canal Road East in Causeway Bay, at about 1pm on Wednesday.
Security footage from the scene showed three of the group armed with a hammer, a knife and what appeared to be a pistol, which were used to threaten staff into giving up the key to the store’s display cases.
Some 36 of the 70 stolen watches, which included brands such as Rolex and Audemars Piguet, were recovered from hotel rooms and residences where the four suspects were staying, alongside HK$230,000 in cash, he said.
“We’re now looking for other stolen watches and will not rule out the possibility of more arrests,” Cheung said on Monday night, adding that his team was investigating whether the gang was involved in any other crimes.
According to the force, investigators believed the cash seized during the arrests were crime proceeds, but they had not determined if they were connected to the sales of the stolen watches.
Police had earlier suspected that the gang had escaped from the scene by jumping into a black getaway car on Jaffe Road, but the chief inspector said the robbers had used two vehicles.
The owners of the two cars, aged 32 and 43, were arrested in Yuen Long and Happy Valley for their alleged role in the robbery, the force said, with the pair suspected of loaning the cars to the gang with full knowledge of their intended purpose.
Police said the gang were observed strolling around Causeway Bay and Wan Chai on Wednesday morning, with the members potentially scouting the area surrounding the store in preparation for the heist.
The chief inspector appealed to the public to contact the force at 2860 7834 or 9886 0043 if they came across any watches of an unknown origin or suspected stolen items.
