Where foreign crooks came from and what they did here
These currencies and watches are among the items recovered by police from a Guatemalan man who was arrested on Oct 30 in connection with break-ins in recent weeks.
The New Paper
Friday, Nov 16, 2012
SINGAPORE - Among the foreign criminals caught here are Romanians, South Americans and Asians.
ROMANIANS: ATM CARD FRAUD
In January 2010, eight Romanians were jailed for between six and nine years each for withdrawing money using cloned ATM cards.
Two of the six were recruited in a pub in Romania with the promise of money when they return to Romania.
They were given a stack of plastic cards encoded with stolen ATM card data belonging to account holders living in Britain when they were in England.
They began their spree on July 2 last year, targeting United Overseas Bank and OCBC Bank ATMs but were nabbed within days after the Commercial Affairs Department received a tip-off. By then, they had already withdrawn more than $20,000.
After they were arrested, police recovered all the cash, along with 270 cloned cards and other items.
VIETNAMESE: SHOPLIFTING SPREE
Five women got away with nearly $3,000 worth of goods after flying to Singapore for a stealing spree in July last year.
They returned a month later, this time with three men in tow but they were detected by shop surveillance cameras.
The group, aged between 17 and 47, distracted sales staff by asking them about the products, while other gang members sneaked behind the counter and stole workers' items such as wallets and mobile phones.
One of them would be stationed outside the store to receive the goods.
They pocketed more than $13,000 worth of loot in their second spree before they were nabbed. The eight Vietnamese thieves were jailed for between six and 18 months last October.
CHILEANS: ROBBERY
In April, two Chilean nationals were each jailed two years for stealing a total of $27,000 from three victims, who had just come out of banks with large sums of money.
While one of them would spit or throw a mixture of raw egg and blue cheese on a victim, then pretend to help the victim clean up the mess, his partner would steal the money.
HONG KONGERS: HOUSEBREAKING
Three people from Hong Kong, suspected of running a transnational housebreaking syndicate, were arrested in the Tanjong Katong area in July this year.
The group, aged between 50 and 55, were arrested for possessing housebreaking tools and loitering with the intent to commit crime. Gloves, maps and walkie-talkie sets were also found in their possession.
The suspects are believed to be involved in a number of syndicate crimes in Hong Kong.
GUATEMALANS: HOUSEBREAKING
A Guatemalan man, ready to flee Singapore with $300,000 worth of stolen items like branded watches and jewellery, was arrested in October.
He is a suspect in three house break-ins between Oct 18 and Oct 27 in the Bukit Timah and Thomson Road areas.
He allegedly broke into two houses at Bukit Timah Road between Coronation Shopping Plaza and King Albert Park, and another at Thomson Road.
The Bukit Timah homes belonged to expatriates, while the owner of the Thomson Road home is a Singaporean.
The suspect is believed to be involved in six other break-ins around the island. The man's accomplices are believed to be still at large in Singapore or abroad.
Get The New Paper for more stories.
These currencies and watches are among the items recovered by police from a Guatemalan man who was arrested on Oct 30 in connection with break-ins in recent weeks.
The New Paper
Friday, Nov 16, 2012
SINGAPORE - Among the foreign criminals caught here are Romanians, South Americans and Asians.
ROMANIANS: ATM CARD FRAUD
In January 2010, eight Romanians were jailed for between six and nine years each for withdrawing money using cloned ATM cards.
Two of the six were recruited in a pub in Romania with the promise of money when they return to Romania.
They were given a stack of plastic cards encoded with stolen ATM card data belonging to account holders living in Britain when they were in England.
They began their spree on July 2 last year, targeting United Overseas Bank and OCBC Bank ATMs but were nabbed within days after the Commercial Affairs Department received a tip-off. By then, they had already withdrawn more than $20,000.
After they were arrested, police recovered all the cash, along with 270 cloned cards and other items.
VIETNAMESE: SHOPLIFTING SPREE
Five women got away with nearly $3,000 worth of goods after flying to Singapore for a stealing spree in July last year.
They returned a month later, this time with three men in tow but they were detected by shop surveillance cameras.
The group, aged between 17 and 47, distracted sales staff by asking them about the products, while other gang members sneaked behind the counter and stole workers' items such as wallets and mobile phones.
One of them would be stationed outside the store to receive the goods.
They pocketed more than $13,000 worth of loot in their second spree before they were nabbed. The eight Vietnamese thieves were jailed for between six and 18 months last October.
CHILEANS: ROBBERY
In April, two Chilean nationals were each jailed two years for stealing a total of $27,000 from three victims, who had just come out of banks with large sums of money.
While one of them would spit or throw a mixture of raw egg and blue cheese on a victim, then pretend to help the victim clean up the mess, his partner would steal the money.
HONG KONGERS: HOUSEBREAKING
Three people from Hong Kong, suspected of running a transnational housebreaking syndicate, were arrested in the Tanjong Katong area in July this year.
The group, aged between 50 and 55, were arrested for possessing housebreaking tools and loitering with the intent to commit crime. Gloves, maps and walkie-talkie sets were also found in their possession.
The suspects are believed to be involved in a number of syndicate crimes in Hong Kong.
GUATEMALANS: HOUSEBREAKING
A Guatemalan man, ready to flee Singapore with $300,000 worth of stolen items like branded watches and jewellery, was arrested in October.
He is a suspect in three house break-ins between Oct 18 and Oct 27 in the Bukit Timah and Thomson Road areas.
He allegedly broke into two houses at Bukit Timah Road between Coronation Shopping Plaza and King Albert Park, and another at Thomson Road.
The Bukit Timah homes belonged to expatriates, while the owner of the Thomson Road home is a Singaporean.
The suspect is believed to be involved in six other break-ins around the island. The man's accomplices are believed to be still at large in Singapore or abroad.
Get The New Paper for more stories.
