Police of Siyang county, in East China’s Jiangsu Province, have arrested three criminal suspects from Fuzhou, East China’s Fujian Province, who traveled 13 hours in a taxi to steal mobile phones.
Local media of Siyang reported on Sunday that the police received a call at 2 am on December 14 from the owner of a mobile phone store who said his shop had been broken into and mobile phones had been stolen.
The police quickly retrieved the scene surveillance footage, which showed that two young men tore open the door curtain and crawled into the store, while another young man stood at the door to watch. The two men frantically searched for property in the store and fled immediately after stealing the phones.
After determining the physical characteristics of the three suspects, as well as the direction they took after fleeing, the police quickly arrested the three suspects in five minutes, media reported.
To the surprise of the police, the three men, who are from Fuzhou, took a 13-hour taxi to Siyang, more than 1,100 kilometers away, to steal mobile phones. The trip may cost about 3,300 yuan ($518), according to taxi-hailing app.
The case is under further investigation. And there was no further information about the suspects’ motivation of such a long-distance theft.
Many netizens said they were confused about the clever plan of the three suspects. “They paid enough for a taxi to buy a good phone. Are thieves now ignoring the cost?” said a Sina Weibo user.
A criminal suspected talks to police after stealing phones in Siyang county. Screenshot from Siyang local media
