Three suspects have been arrested in connection with five theft cases involving losses of HK$20,000 (US$2,570) in Hong Kong, with police saying a syndicate allegedly ordered the trio to target elderly women who were on their own.
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The force said on Saturday it was hunting for other perpetrators linked to the Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O cases, but did not specify how many more people were believed to be involved.
Senior Inspector Kwok Man-wai of the Tuen Mun district investigation team said officers arrested the three mainland Chinese men aged between 32 to 47 on Friday night over the five cases of theft and attempts to steal belongings this month.
“The force believes that this group of men committed crimes in an organised manner,” Kwok said. “There were people behind the scenes in control and arranged for the men to come to Hong Kong.”
Two of the arrested men entered the city illegally. The other held a two-way exit permit, a document used by mainlanders to travel to Hong Kong.
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An investigation revealed that members of the syndicate would loiter at crowded areas such as shopping centres and bus stations to target elderly women who were on their own and steal from their bags.