JEDDAH, 23 January 2008 — Moments before the plane was about to take off, Jeddah police boarded a plane at the international airport here and arrested a Chinese man who allegedly stole a Rolex wristwatch worth SR250,000 from a shop downtown.
According to Jeddah police spokesperson Col. Mesfer Al-Jead, the suspect entered an exclusive watch store and engaged the seller in conversation about a pricey Rolex watch. He reportedly asked to see it and, with the help of an accomplice managed to return the box to the shopkeeper empty. The report implies an accomplice, but police said they arrested only one man.
The brother of the shopkeeper who happened to be flying into Jeddah the same day that the suspect was departing suspected a group of Chinese nationals at the airport and informed his brother and police. Using his mobile phone the brother was able to get this shopkeeper brother to positively identify one of the men. Police said the description turned out to be a match; they reportedly found the watch in the suspect’s carry-on luggage.
