UPDATE: A group of armed thieves who held up a delivery van in a brazen and well-organized robbery yesterday afternoon may have made of with almost HK$6 million (US$768,000), according to a report.
In a story about the heist, which occurred on Sha Tau Kok road near the border of Hong Kong and mainland China, the SCMP wrote that a gang of at least five robbers, wearing caps and surgical masks, had snatched a nylon bag containing HK$5.8 million in cash that was being transported by father-and-son traders.
The dramatic robbery, the newspaper wrote, saw two of the thieves stop their targets by ramming the van head-on with a Toyota, before three more robbers leaped out of a second car.
According to on.cc, one of the men used a hammer to smash the van’s window, another threatened the driver with a knife and a third sprayed the driver with pepper spray.
In a differing report, however, The Standard wrote that six men attacked the vehicle armed with axes, snatched HK$3 million (US$384,000) and used kerosene to torch the car they used to intercept the van, before fleeing in another car. That contradicts an earlier report by Apple Daily, which had suggested the men had fled in two vehicles.
Local media reported the men evaded detection by authorities, who deployed helicopters to search for them.
The Standard wrote that the robbery was believed to have been carried out by the same gang that conducted another van heist in August, which occurred about 3.7 kilometers away from yesterday’s attack in Man Uk Pin.
Quoting New Territory police officials, the SCMP wrote that police were investigating the link between the crimes, both involving men wearing surgical masks and appearing well organized.
The father and son held up yesterday were traders who bought and sold stock across the border and were carrying the money to buy new iPhone X phones, on.cc reported.
