Police arrest 7 on suspicion of stealing gold bars from airport

A man was robbed at knifepoint in an airport parking lot earlier this week, with gold bars worth approximately 7 million yuan taken from him. Police have arrested 7 people after investigation, but the stolen items have not been recovered.

Preliminary investigations suggest it was a planned robbery and that some suspects may have fled to the mainland.

A 36-year-old local man was in parking lot number 3 at the airport earlier this week, and was about to get into his car, when three masked men armed with knives attacked him, robbed his backpack, and fled in a seven-seater vehicle.

Police received the report at around 12:30 am on Thursday. After investigation, the force says the victim was hired by a mainland businessman to carry the gold bars back to Hong Kong from Indonesia alone. The robbed backpack is claimed to contain 6 gold bars, worth approximately 7 million dollars.

The victim sustained injuries to his thigh and left forearm, but is currently in stable condition.

Following investigation, police arrested four men and three women, aged between 20 and 39. All are local residents, and some with triad backgrounds.

Investigation suggests that this was not a random robbery, and authorities have reasons to believe the perpetrators knew the victim's flight, route, and parking location beforehand. Police say the case involved an insider's tip-off.

And officers are investigating whether the entire operation was linked to other crimes.

A seven-seater vehicle believed to have been used in the robbery was recovered in Tsuen Wan. Knives and other evidence were found inside the vehicle, but the gold bars were not recovered.

It is believed some suspects have fled to the mainland. Hong Kong police will request assistance from mainland law enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspects.