3 child-pickpocket gangs rounded up ( 2003-09-25 14:33) (China Daily)
Three pickpocket gangs that used children to steal have been arrested in
Shenzhen, reports Guangzhou Daily. The youngest child involved was just five.
The children were ordered to take money and cellphones from women's purses or
men's pockets while the adult gang members surrounded the victims to cover for
the children, said Shenzhen police.
To secure evidence of their crimes, three teams of undercover policemen
followed the suspects for more than 10 days and recorded their activities on
video.
Some children were found chained to beds when police raided their dens on
September 20.
Among the 23 people arrested, 16 were younger than 16 years of age and have
been sent home to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
|