Man Arrested in Stealing Second-Hand Luxury Goods

The alleged thief was caught in Bangkok, and sent back to HK

When the economy is faltering, there are criminals who turn to stealing to make some money.

Robberies in Hong Kong are rare, and if they happen it's usually in jewellery stores. But recently one thief got creative and hit a store selling second-hand luxury goods.

Some of the 14 stolen Hermes handbags

On Wednesday a mainland Chinese man entered a shop on Hart Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui where he allegedly rendered a female store employee unconscious and tied her up. 

He then allegedly made off with 14 pre-owned Hermes bags, a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace, and two mobile phones totalling almost HK$3 million (US$382,170).

One wonders how he managed to carry 14 Hermes bags outside on the street without attracting attention.

The robber then fled to Bangkok and was held in custody by the Thai authorities before he was sent back to Hong Kong. Most of the stolen goods were recovered. 

This is not the first time a store selling pre-loved luxury items was robbed.

In November last year, thieves broke into a shop selling consigned luxury brand goods in a grade A office building in Central. They stole 66 Hermes handbags worth a total of HK$10 million in five minutes.

Last November HK$10M in goods was stolen

The store had to compensate all the clients whose bags were consigned were either stolen or damaged.

While selling second-hand luxury goods is a good business, the threat of thieves stealing expensive merchandise is not for the faint-hearted.