Man, 42, arrested for stealing over HK$600,000 worth of electronic components
The Hongkonger’s most recent theft was captured by security cameras and led police to his flat, where they also found illegal drugs.
Security camera footage led police to a 42-year-old man, who was arrested on Wednesday for stealing more than HK$600,000 worth of electronic components in Hong Kong over the past two months.
It was the Hongkonger’s most recent theft on Monday that was captured on tape, when he took HK$30,000 worth of electronic components from a truck parked on Wang Hoi Road, Kowloon Bay.
After managing to identify the suspect, crime squad officers raided a Fung Tak Road flat in Wong Tai Sin and arrested the man.
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Officers also seized illegal drugs such as cannabis and crystal meth with an estimated street value of about HK$1,000, which were found in the flat.
“Further investigations showed the man was thought to be connected to six other reports of theft in Sau Mau Ping and Kwun Tong between November 3 and December 6 in which electronic parts worth more than HK$600,000 were stolen,” a police spokesman said.
It is understood that some of the components were also stolen from vehicles parked on the street elsewhere in the city.
On Thursday morning, the man was still being held for questioning and had not been charged.
Detectives from Sau Mau Ping district crime squad are handling the case.
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A few days earlier on Sunday, the force kicked off the annual police campaign against crimes such as burglary and shop theft ahead of the festive season. During the two-month operation, which will end after the Lunar New Year, officers will step up patrols and increase observation posts in high-risk locations, in addition to conducting an anti-crime publicity campaign.
According to official statistics, police handled 758 reports of theft from vehicles across the city in the first 10 months of this year, up 8.3 per cent compared with the same period last year.
But overall, reports of theft fell by 5.8 per cent to 19,934 in the first 10 months of this year from 21,153 in the same period last year.
