Hong Kong police have launched a manhunt for three people involved in a suspected deception case in which a shop reportedly lost 73kg of gold bars worth an estimated US$12 million, the South China Morning Post has learned.
The force said on Friday that it had received a report from a woman in Hung Hom at around 2.57pm that a nearby shop was suspected to have been “burgled”. The woman said the shop owner had told her someone had stolen the gold bars before fleeing in a private vehicle.
A source said the case involved a privately owned gold shop located in the Peninsula Square commercial building on Sung On Street.
A former partner of the shop allegedly tricked the manager into handing over gold bars worth around US$12 million, the source said. The man then got into a black Tesla with his wife and a male driver and fled the scene.
The force said that during the investigation, officers pulled over a white vehicle, but it was later determined to be unrelated to the case.
The car was reportedly stopped near a toll plaza on the North Lantau Highway en route for the airport.
