Police arrest 3 over HK$70,000 Jellycat claw machine shop theft

Police arrest 3 over HK$70,000 Jellycat claw machine shop theft

Suspects allegedly used crowbars to pry open machines in unstaffed Tai Wai shop before selling stolen goods to other operators

Hong Kong police have arrested three men suspected of using crowbars to steal popular Jellycat dolls and other plush toys worth about HK$70,000 (US$8,923) from a claw machine shop to resell them.

The force on Friday said it received a report in the early hours of September 17 that two thieves had broken into an unstaffed claw machine shop in Tai Wai.

The shop owner had offered a HK$100,000 reward on social media to catch the thieves after the crime.

“They used a crowbar to pry open two claw machines and stole nearly 100 plush toys valued at around HK$70,000,” said Inspector Chan Wai-chi of the Sha Tin district anti-triad section.