Police arrest man over $1m jewelry theft from foreign trader at airport hotel

An Algerian man was arrested within six hours of the theft of nearly HK$1 million in jewelry from a sleeping foreign trader at an airport hotel on Sunday. 

Police received a report at around 2pm from a Sri Lankan trader who discovered that rough gemstones worth nearly HK$1 million had been stolen from his backpack after he slept for more than an hour in the hotel lobby. 

Officers launched an investigation and identified the suspect after reviewing extensive CCTV footage. 

The Algerian man, who is in his thirties, was subsequently arrested at a hotel in Tsing Yi on suspicion of theft and remains in custody for further investigation.

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As the stolen items consisted of various types of gemstones, police believed the suspect was not targeting the victim but had acted opportunistically in the airport.

With the Jewellery & Gem WORLD Hong Kong (JGW) opening on Wednesday, police said patrols and intelligence analysis would be stepped up, urging exhibitors to stay vigilant. 

They reiterated that theft is a serious offense, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment on conviction.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓