Police yesterday said they are working to track down eight foreigners in connection with an alleged theft of gems valued at NT$200 million (US$6.63 million) after the Taiwan Jewellery & Gem Fair this weekend.
“We have set up a task force to handle this case and have tentatively identified the suspects. We are pursuing them and are confident we can crack the case,” Taipei Police Chief Chen Chia-chang (陳嘉昌) said.
Investigators are pursuing six men and two women of Middle Eastern origin who they suspect of being members of an international professional theft ring, Chen said, but did not indicate if they have been found.
Photo: CNA
Jade Wu (伍穗華), general manager of Taipei-based jewelry company Jurassic Inc (侏儸紀寶石), said the gems were stolen from her purse, which she placed on the driver’s seat of her car before departing after the conclusion of the four-day fair on Monday.
“I went to the trunk to load equipment from the exhibition, but when I was done and returned to the front seat, the purse was not there,” Wu said.
Surveillance footage showed several foreigners loitering in the vicinity and quickly leaving the Taipei World Trade Center car park via the escalator.
Photo: CNA
Police found her purse in some bushes, but the gems were missing.
Wu and Jurassic owner Lee Cheng-lun (李承倫) yesterday called a news conference to report six missing items worth a combined NT$200 million: an extremely rare diamond named the “Kimberley Red,” two other loose diamonds, a sapphire brooch and two jade rings.
There were two police officers in the car park, but they were distracted by two women who are likely of Middle East origin asking for directions, Wu said, alleging that the women were a coordinated part of a professional theft operation.
Lee criticized the security lapse, saying: “This show should be the most secure venue in Taiwan, since it was totally covered by surveillance cameras and police patrols, but the heist occurred right in front of the police.”
“If the police cannot solve this case, it will cause serious damage to the jewelry business in Taiwan. No foreign businesses would dare to come to participate in future shows,” he said.
Similar thefts have occurred before at Taipei jewelry fairs, Lee said, accusing the police of being “lax and shoddy,” and alleging that international theft rings are targeting Taiwan because of police negligence and lax security measures.
Additional reporting by CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique