The dramatic capture of the fugitive in last’s week’s heist from a luxury store in the centre of Nanjing has taken place on the other side of the country, less than 3 days after the robbery itself and only moments before the thief was to sell his loot.
Last Friday, The Nanjinger reported on the daring robbery that occured on 19 January from the Daniu Global Second-Hand Luxury Exchange Centre (大牛全球二手奢侈品交流中心) that is located on Shigu Lu in the very heart of Nanjing’s downtown that is Xinjiekou.
A total 68 luxury items were stolen during the raid, including watches, jewelry and bags, with an overall value in excess of ¥13 million.
Alert reporters who had made it to the scene in time noticed a large hole in the ceiling of the store near the door when it was opened to allow police officers to enter. The reporters estimated the hole to be large enough for an adult to pass through.
With the successful apprehension of the suspect, so details of the how the robbery was executed have emerged, together with video footage showing the robbery taking place and the perpetrator being taking down by detectives.
In order to realise the capture of the suspect in just 60 hours, multiple police officers first trawled through nearly 500 hours of surveillance footage, an exercise that alone took 24 hours. Finally though, the suspect was found on one of the store’s security cameras, appearing at 04:21 on 19 January.
The footage clearly shows a man with a mask and a tight package descending a rope from the hole in the ceiling to successfully enter the store. After breaking into display cabinets and bagging items therein, he returns back the way he came; climbing through the hole with the help of the rope and leaving the scene with the stolen goods.
Police then found the same man turn up at 04:50, wearing a gray coat and a backpack, departing from the north gate of the building. After running police checks, the identity of the suspect was confirmed, reports Nanjing Daily.
Surnamed Yan (31), police found that he had left Nanjing. Beginning the night after the early morning raid, a police special task force chased Yan nonstop for 2 days, travelling to Chongqing Municipality, as well as Nanchong and Chengdu in Sichuan Province.
In a dramatic apprehension, at 19:00 on 21 January, three officers took down Yan and arrested him, he having come to a square in Chengdu to sell the stolen goods. On his person, police found four stolen watches and other items, and subsequently recovered all the remaining stolen goods in Yan’s temporary residence.
