Six pickpockets who target long-distance bus terminals arrested
Six suspects have been arrested for picking the pockets of passengers at Shanghai’s long-distance bus terminals, police said on Wednesday.
The gang has stolen about 30,000 yuan (US$4,600) worth of mobile phones since June, they added.
Xuhui police were tipped off by plainclothes colleagues in June that some pickpockets, who had previously been punished for the offense, were back to their old tricks at the city’s long-distance bus terminals.
The suspects usually appeared after midnight when the last buses arrived at the terminals. They took advantage of the dim street lighting and the fatigue of the passengers, police said.
They added some suspects even allegedly pretended to be illegal taxi drivers to grab passengers’ attention by offering bargain rides while their accomplices picked their victims' pockets.
