A middle-aged duo, who tried to run off with HKD1.5 million worth of dried seafood from a shop in Kwung Tong on Wednesday morning, were caught red-handed as they tried to flag a taxi for their escape.
Should have gone with Uber.
Police are currently investigating whether or not the two men, aged 51 and 52, are serial seafood thieves, the SCMP reports. Over the past six months, around HKD10 million worth of goods have been stolen from 10 local dried seafood shops.
Police, who were patrolling the district at around 3am on Wednesday on an anti-burglary operation, spotted the fish fanatics entering through the rear door of Kwong Sen Mansion.
Police managed to intercept the duo when they departed the scene around two hours later, carrying two bags worth of abalone, birds’ nests and fungus, among other goods.
“Initial investigation showed that the culprits cut open a wire net to sneak into the stairwell of the building and then broke a 45cm by 45cm hole through a brick wall to enter the shop,” Chung Chi-ming, Acting Superintendent of Kowloon East regional crime unit, said.
Chung suspects that the two were “professional” burglars, as it seems they disabled the security alarm. The pair is then thought to have used a crowbar and two screwdrivers to break the brick wall.
Chung said he believes the stolen items were probably set to be smuggled into mainland China or sold to other shops at mates’ rates.
