China’s largest gold theft case is solved: all 27 kilograms of gold have been fully recovered—the main suspect breaks the gold into pieces to pay the fare

BlockBeats News, June 22 — Recently, Nanjing police in China announced the full resolution of the country's largest gold theft case to date, involving 11 suspects with none escaping, and all 27 kilograms of stolen gold recovered.

On the early morning of May 16, 2026, a luxury goods store in Jiangning District, Nanjing, was targeted in a carefully planned theft. The main suspect, Tong, climbed in through a window on the second floor, packing all 37 gold items weighing a total of 27 kilograms, valued at over 27 million yuan, without touching the nearby luxury watches and jewelry. His accomplice, Wang, infiltrated the surveillance room in advance, shut down nearly 80 cameras, formatted all data, and flew to Bangkok, acting as a "remote director." The scene of the crime had intact locks and cleared surveillance data, initially confusing police investigations.

The Nanjing special task force restored surveillance footage and tracked public videos, reconstructing Tong’s route as he fled southward from Nanjing via ride-hailing car. According to the driver’s later account, Tong appeared nervous, changed destinations multiple times, and upon reaching Nanning, couldn’t pay the over 7,000 yuan fare, instead tearing off half a 50-gram gold bar to settle the bill.

In the early morning of May 18, the Ai Dian Border Police Station in Chongzuo, Guangxi, received an urgent cooperative investigation notice from Nanjing police. Within three minutes, officers assembled and deployed precise control. At 5:40 a.m., a white Jetta was intercepted just a hundred meters from the China-Vietnam border, and Tong was arrested on the spot, carrying 8.75 kilograms of gold. From the report to interception, less than half an hour elapsed.

On May 23, the main suspect Wang was captured in Bangkok and extradited back to China. Police recovered 13.2 kilograms of gold from his residence. Two strangers, highly educated gamblers — hospital worker Tong and software company development manager Wang — both fell into crime due to deep online gambling debts (ranging from several million to 7 million yuan), ultimately both ending up in custody.