Not many people know that green stones, such as jade, can be worth more than gold. In fact, the single most expensive jade item ever sold is the Hutton-Mdivani Necklace, which sold for $27.4 million at an auction in 2014.
China, in particular, has an appetite for jade, which is increasing as the country becomes wealthier. The following story demonstrates how far two Chinese thieves went to acquire this rare and expensive jewel…
Jade Necklaces
On December 13, 2018, the Industrial Park Public Security Bureau Jidong Police Station in China, received a call from a jade merchant in Yangmei Community. The call was in reference to a string of jade necklaces being snatched at the store.
Female
After receiving the report, the police on duty at the police station drove to the scene and arrested one of the suspects in the shop. One of the women was a 24-year-old female named Zhou from Huidong County, Huizhou City.
Jadeite Jade Necklace
After the preliminary investigation, authorities discovered that two thieves had been going to a jade shop in the Yangmei community for three consecutive days and looking at jade necklaces. But the whole time they were in the store, they repeatedly looked at an old jadeite jade necklace, but never bought it.
Jewelry Store
On December 13, Zhou and an unidentified man came into the jade shop for the fifth time and asked the clerk to take out the necklace again. After asking the clerk for an inquiry, the man said he had to carefully watch the necklace in the sunshine outside the store.
Outside
During this time, Zhou continued to stay in the store, while the man walked outside with the necklace and stared at it. However, he did not prepare ahead of time to quickly carry the necklace to escape the scene.
Suspect
CCTV footage released by authorities showed the man, dressed in black clothing, standing outside the jewelry shop before suddenly leaving the premises with the necklace, prompting sales staff to call the police.
Worth Over 10 Million Yuan
“The owner claimed the necklace was worth over 10 million yuan. We took the case very seriously and immediately began our investigations,” said officer Huang Xushan, adding that the suspect was a drug addict.
Two Thieves
Officers soon discovered that the two thieves planned their heist after getting acquainted on a Chinese dating app called Momo. They also carried out on-the-spot investigations at the scene of the crime.
Evidence
Police collected the evidence and retrieved the video surveillance in and around the store for comparative analysis. They tried to unlock the identity of the male suspect, while the technical department of the Municipal Public Security Bureau was requested to provide technical support.
Facial Recognition
Soon, the police obtained the facial image of the man and compared it with a new police identity recognition system. The identity of the man was confirmed as Hou Moping, 49, from Huangpu District, Guangzhou. At the same time, the network police department of the Municipal Public Security Bureau also confirmed that the suspect was Hou.
Task Force
However, less than 10 hours after the incident, when police didn’t have the suspect in custody, the task force learned that Hou had fled to Shantou City after the incident. Authorities acted quickly and dispatched the elite police force to form an arresting group.
Arrest
They then went to Foshan overnight to arrest Hou. At 3 a.m. on December 14, policeman Thunder apprehended Hou in Pingshan Jade Street, Nanhai District, 15 hours away from the jewelry store. After Hou was arrested, he refused to explain the facts of the crime.
Hidden Jade
Through a careful and thorough search, the police found the fasteners of the jade necklace in the suspects’ backpacks, yet, they couldn’t find the entire jade necklace. “Where is the jade necklace being hidden?” they asked Hou.
Lips Were Sealed
He responded by saying, “I don’t know.” After determining that the suspect couldn’t have sold the necklace by then, they suspected that more than 40 jadeite jade beads on the necklace were more likely hidden in Hou’s body.
Full-Body Examination
To see if their suspicions were correct, the police handling the case took Hou to the local hospital for a full-body examination. Finally, through an X-ray, they discovered that the jade beads on the necklace were found.
X-Ray
With no way to deny it now, Hou finally admitted to the facts of the crime and confessed to robbing the jade necklace. The jade beads were then removed and swallowed in Hou’s stomach to escape the investigation.
Detained
The suspects are still being detained on the suspicion of robbing and the case is under further investigation. Although pretty unsettling, a case like this fairly common. Back in March 2015, a man named Anil Jadhav, from India allegedly snatched a necklace from a woman before swallowing it in an attempt to maintain his innocence.
Missing Jewelry
Police took Jadhav to Mumbai’s Sion hospital where Suleman Merchant X-rayed the suspect’s stomach to find the missing jewelry. The 25-gram necklace had a large pendant which delayed its retrieval, according to the Daily Mail.
Bananas
In order to speed the retrieval process up, authorities provided four dozen bananas the hospital so they could feed them to Yadav. While in the hospital, Yadav’s family even arrived to feed bananas to him.
Retrieving The Necklace
Bananas are one of the fruits that bind your stomach, which is why it was given to Yadav to eat. Even after the jewelry was removed from Yadav’s body, the woman whom it stole it from said she would never again wear the object and would instead have it melted down and made into a new piece of jewelry.
