13 arrested in Hong Kong over HK$59 million gold robbery at workshop
Police say 17 men stormed processing facility at around 5am on Wednesday, stealing an estimated 65kg of gold
Hong Kong police have arrested 13 people in connection with a daring robbery at a gold workshop in Hung Hom, where HK$59 million (US$7.6 million) worth of the precious metal was stolen a day earlier.
A gang of thieves on Wednesday morning targeted the gold and jewellery processing facility on the fourth floor of the Fu Hang Industrial Building on Hok Yuen Street East.
Police said 17 men stormed the premises at around 5am, then picked out a room where gold was stored.
They made off with an estimated 65kg of the precious metal, including bars, bricks and powder, and HK$20,000 in cash.
Police said 13 individuals had been detained across the city on Thursday in connection with the robbery. The occupations of the suspects included construction, cleaning and sales. Some of the arrestees said they were unemployed.
The group comprised 12 men, aged 29 to 60, arrested on suspicion of theft and a 32-year-old woman apprehended for allegedly concealing the whereabouts of her husband, a suspect in the case. Some of them were believed to have triad affiliations.
Authorities also managed to recover all of the stolen gold, worth HK$59 million.
But a police source said some individuals remained at large, including the alleged mastermind.