Ten arrested after car smashed head-on into delivery van by gang wielding hammers who stole HK$6 million
Police found HK$2.75 million of stolen cash, two fake car number plates and two private vehicles used in the robberies
Police have arrested 10 men, some believed to be triad members, who smashed cars head-on into other vehicles before using weapons to steal almost HK$6 million (US$750,000), near the Hong Kong-Chinese border.
The men, aged between 22 and 48, were arrested for robbery and handling stolen goods in a police operation that was launched on Friday, according to Lam See-yee, Regional Crime Unit Chief Inspector of the North District.
Police found HK$2.75 million of stolen cash, two fake car number plates and two private vehicles used in the robberies.
Lam said the group had walked along Sha Tau Kok Road, where both robberies took place, multiple times to study the surroundings. Sha Tau Kok Road is the only major road that connects the border area near the Yantian District of Shenzhen in mainland China with Fanling in New Territories East.
“They were familiar with the landscape and traffic conditions,” Lam said.
Hammer-wielding thieves smash head-on into delivery van in HK$6 million daylight robbery in Hong Kong
The first robbery happened on August 28, when a light goods van driven by a 64-year-old owner of a company was hit head-on by a car on Sha Tau Kok Road, near Muk Min Tau. Three men wearing surgical masks approached the van with knives and pepper spray and fled after snatching a briefcase said to be carrying just bolts. The driver was robbed of HK$140.
The second robbery took place on the same road on November 13, about 3.7km from the site of the first when a gang of at least five men smashed into a delivery van and snatched HK$5.8 million in cash.
The gang in the second robbery also wore surgical masks and caps and came in two cars, the first used to intercept the victim’s car and the second carrying three robbers. One of trio used a hammer to smash the windows, another threatened the driver and his son next to him with a beef knife while a third one used an unidentified spray on the driver’s face. The group fled the scene with the money in the second car, leaving the first, which burst into flames soon after.
