Hong Kong police have recovered about HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) worth of stolen gold and arrested two men in connection with an elaborate hotel-room swap in which 30kg of gold granules were replaced with eight bottles of fabric softener.
The force said it received a report early on Wednesday from a mainland Chinese man who said about 30kg of gold granules, valued at around HK$30 million, were suspected to have been stolen from his luggage in a Kwun Tong hotel.
The gold had been replaced with eight similarly weighted bottles of fabric softener and a friend travelling with him in the same room had disappeared.
Police traced the suspects using the city’s surveillance camera network.