Like a surreal scene from a movie, Thimphu police recovered four stolen Dzi beads and a turquoise allegedly swallowed by three men last week. They were arrested by police along with three other men for burglary last month. The suspects between the ages of 25 and 30 stole a safe from a businesswoman near Thimphu’s Centenary Famers Market. Dzi, jewellery and cash were among the things in the safe, which had a total value of more than Nu 15 M.
Police apprehended two of the suspects on the 13th of last month from Thimphu. The interrogation led them to the other four suspects who have absconded to Samtse. They were arrested on the 28th. While police were able to recover most of the stolen items from the suspects during the investigation, they could not find the four Dzi beads and the turquoise. According to police, the suspects claimed to have lost the precious stones while trying to run from the police. However, unconvinced by their excuses, the police took them to the hospital and did an X-ray scan which confirmed that they swallowed the stolen items. All the swallowed items were recovered from the suspects’ faeces.
Except for a few pieces of jewellery and cash, police were able to recover all of the valuable items.
The suspicious movements of the suspects were first caught on CCTV installed in the premises of the CFM.
According to the police, installing CCTV is critical, and people should store their expensive belongings in safe deposit lockers in banks or build their safe in the wall for added security.
Meanwhile, compared to the previous years, the number of burglary cases in the country has decreased. From more than a hundred burglary cases every year in 2017, 2018 and 2019 only close to seventy burglary cases have been reported last year and this year respectively.
Pema Seldon Tshering
Edited by Sonam
