Since April this year, a series of thefts have occurred in Haijingyuan Residential Community on Wujia Mountain Street, Dongxihu District. Strangely, when the police reviewed surveillance footage from building entrances and stairwell cameras, they couldn't find any suspicious recordings of thieves in action. Officers decided to set up an ambush in Haijingyuan, but after nine days and nights of stakeout, no thieves showed up.
At around 3 a.m. yesterday, officers spotted a taxi stopping near the roadside by the community. Three men got out and quickly climbed over the outer wall of the community barehanded, then ran towards the high-rise residential buildings. In no time, the three thieves managed to scale up to the sixth floor by gripping water pipes, balconies, or security bars on the exterior wall, and broke into apartments via windows in an attempt to steal.
The scene was clearly observed by the special investigation team. Officers immediately organized community security guards to block the thieves from different directions, trapping them at height. Then, the officers searched floor by floor and caught all three on the spot.
Investigation revealed that the suspects – Guo, 29, Luo, and others – are residents of Yuexi County, Sichuan, and all had a history of drug use. To carry out their crimes, Guo, Luo, and another accomplice had been practicing barehanded rock climbing techniques. In April this year, they came to Wuhan and committed crimes in areas including Jianghan, Chukou, Wuchang, Hanyang, and Dongxihu, using their barehanded climbing skills to carry out over 30 thefts, stealing hundreds of thousands of yuan worth of property. At times, they committed as many as four high-rise thefts in one night, each taking no more than 10 minutes.
Police are currently searching for other members of the gang.