Tate's Cairn Tunnel crash leads to arrest of suspect in $7m gold airport heist

A car accident in the Tate's Cairn Tunnel early Tuesday morning unexpectedly led to a breakthrough in a major gold bar robbery case from June. The collision, which occurred around 3am during single-tube, two-way traffic, involved two private cars. 

Police discovered that the 21-year-old driver of one vehicle was a wanted man, driving without a license, and in possession of illegal drugs. 

Subsequent investigations linked him to a high-profile heist at the airport.

Suspect to face six charges

The 21-year-old is expected to be provisionally charged with six offenses, including conspiracy to rob, trafficking in a dangerous drug, taking a conveyance without authority, driving without a license, driving without third-party insurance, and careless driving. 

He is scheduled to appear at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts tomorrow morning.

Connection to airport gold robbery

Authorities believe the driver is one of the suspects in the robbery of HK$7 million worth of gold bars that took place in an airport car park on June 18. 

In that incident, a 36-year-old man was attacked with a knife by robbers who stole his backpack containing the gold. 

The assailants then fled in a getaway vehicle, with some later escaping to mainland China.

Police have long suspected the robbery was an inside job and have been working with mainland law enforcement to apprehend those involved. 

To date, authorities have arrested multiple individuals, including alleged masterminds, robbers, and accomplices. 

The arrest of the 21-year-old brings the total number of people detained in connection with the case to 18, with ages ranging from 17 to 49.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓