Hubei couple team up to steal bonsai just to take them home for their own enjoyment

The photo shows the recovered bonsai. Photo courtesy of police

Out of personal hobby, a couple in Dangyang took their nephew and drove around as a group to steal bonsai. After more than 20 days of tracking and investigation, Dangyang police successfully arrested all three. On June 21, the three criminal suspects Wang, Li and Yan were subjected to compulsory measures by Dangyang police in accordance with the law.

Since June, multiple cases of bonsai theft had occurred in the urban area of Dangyang. Dangyang police attached great importance to this, quickly set up a special investigation team, reviewed massive amounts of surveillance video, visited a large number of residents, and finally the local residents, the couple Wang and Li, came into the police's sight.

On the afternoon of June 19, Wang went out by bike with his nephew Yan and was arrested by officers lying in wait. Li, who knew nothing about it, went to the police station to ask questions and ended up walking right into the trap. Upon interrogation, Wang, Li and Yan all rather liked bonsai plants, but did not want to spend their own money to buy them, so the three hit it off and decided to go to residential homes in the urban area to steal other people's bonsai and keep them at home for viewing.

Since June, Wang and the other two had carried out 4 thefts in the urban area of Dangyang, stealing 2 pots of sago palms, 2 pots of Radermachera sinica, and 1 pot of rockery. At present, all the stolen bonsai have been recovered, and the case is still under further investigation.