Young Girl Hunted By Hong Kong Police Over $4.6 Million Diamond Heist

Hong Kong police are in search of a young girl between the ages of 12- to 14-years-old for the theft of a diamond necklace from a local luxury jewelry store. The Associated Press reveals the diamond necklace is worth $4.6 million.

The girl, however, did not pull off this heist alone. She was accompanied by three adults, two women, and a man between the ages of 30 and 40. According to the International Business Times, the three adults and the young girl entered the Emperor jewelry store located in the “high-end 1881 Heritage mall in the city’s Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district” on Friday afternoon.

The theft took place right under the noses of the staff. The sharp-dressed, Putonghua-speaking adults distracted the jewelry store staff by asking to look at a variety of jewelry pieces, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, the young girl managed to steal the key to the jewelry display case from a drawer, unlock and open the display cabinet, and proceed to pull the 100-carat gold necklace from a display bust and stash it in her pocket. All the while, staff completely remiss to what has just happened.

Police say the adults remained in the store for approximately 30 minutes before they left with the young girl without making any purchase.

The heist was wrapped up by 3:30 p.m., and it wasn’t until around 5 p.m. that a 63-year-old employee noticed the multi-million dollar necklace embedded with over 30 diamonds was missing and called the police.

Upon watching videos from the mall’s video surveillance cameras, authorities realized the young girl and her accomplices were caught on the CCTV. Authorities reveal to the International Business Times that the young girl was wearing black trousers, a blue shirt, and a gray hooded jacket.

It is likely, however, that the young girl changed her appearance quickly after she left the shop, before jumping in a taxi to flee the scene. It is believed that she was wearing pink and white during the heist.

The three adults were seen lingering in the mall for a period of time after the theft as if nothing had happened.

A police source told the South China Morning Post, that this “was the first time in recent years a child had been used in such a heist.”

The Hong Kong police are currently hunting the young girl and the three adults. Border security personnel in the territory are also on high alert. They believe the suspects will try to flee the city.

[Photo Credit: HongKong.coconuts.co, SCMP.com]