The incident occurred at approximately 9:00 a.m. last Thursday outside the Grand Millennium Plaza at 181 Queen’s Road Central in Sheung Wan. According to police reports, four assailants wielding machetes ambushed the victims, seizing four suitcases containing the cash.
The victims were identified as a 39-year-old mainland Chinese national, traveling on a two-way permit, and a 51-year-old driver. Both are employees of a Japan-based trading company dealing in virtual currency and luxury goods. Investigators stated the pair had transported the cash from Japan and were en route to a local money exchange to convert the yen into cryptocurrency and Hong Kong dollars when they were intercepted near an escalator. The entire robbery took a mere 30 seconds. The suspects fled westbound in a seven-seater vehicle before meeting a second support vehicle to transfer the loot. The initial getaway car was later found abandoned on Jervois Street, while the second vehicle was subsequently located by police in the New Territories.
Police acted swiftly, apprehending a 43-year-old mainland Chinese man near Exit D of the Sheung Wan MTR station on the day of the crime. Following an expanded investigation between the 18th and 21st, authorities arrested a total of 15 suspects on charges of conspiracy to commit robbery. Of those arrested, six men and one woman have been formally charged. The 43-year-old man initially detained has been released on bail pending further inquiries into his role in the crime.
Police described the heist as “carefully orchestrated,” noting the professional and rapid execution of the theft. Operations are currently ongoing as authorities continue their search for the location of the missing 1 billion yen.
