PJ-China police detain six for RMB4.5m theft at Outer Harbour Terminal

The Judiciary Police (PJ), working with mainland police authorities, has announced the arrest of six people in connection with a theft at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal.

The arrests were made Thursday after a theft two days earlier, according to information from the PJ.

The local police are also said to have arrested four local men suspected of being part of a cross-border crime ring created to perform this type of activity, while another two suspects were arrested with the assistance of the mainland authorities at the city of Zhaoqing (Guangdong) and Wuhan (Hubei).

According to the PJ, the victim, a local resident, was carrying several pieces of luggage containing RMB4.5 million and had been earmarked by the group that was following him waiting for an opportunity to steal the bags with the cash.

The group’s opportunity arose when the victim visited the toilet at the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, he told the PJ.

After the investigation, the PJ said the four residents arrested are allegedly part of the criminal organization that had the duty of keeping and laundering the money so that the police would lose track of it.

Two of them are family members (mother and brother) of the alleged ringleader, a local 23-year-old man that was later detained in the mainland city of Wuhan.

The two people arrested on the mainland planned the Outer Harbour theft.

With the arrest of the suspects, the PJ recovered part of the stolen cash, amounting to RMB1.3 million, with the PJ suspecting the rest had been transferred to different accounts.

The case is still under investigation with the PJ saying it is still trying to understand how the group knew that the victim would be carrying such a high amount of money in the luggage.

The PJ spokesperson said it is also suspected the ringleader’s mother and brother are linked to operations related to illegal currency exchange.