Supermarket bombers nabbed in Shenzhen By Chen Hong (China Daily) Updated: 2006-01-18 06:19
SHENZHEN: Local police have arrested three men on suspicion of blackmailing
supermarkets with self-made bombs, 12 hours after an explosion in a store in the
southern city on Monday.
Nobody was hurt when one of the bombs exploded in a storage cabinet of the
newly-opened outlet of Carrefour, the French retailing giant, in Luohu District
on Monday afternoon.
After an emergency broadcast in the supermarket, nearly 1,000 consumers and
employees were evacuated to safety in minutes, according to a report by Southern
Metropolis News.
The local police said that they had received bomb threats from three
supermarkets shortly before the explosion, including the Carrefour outlet.
The blackmailers said they had placed bombs in the supermarkets and demanded
each of them put 23,500 yuan (US$2,900) into a designated bank account.
At the Carrefour outlet, experts found that the blackmailers ignited powder
in a small bottle with flaming mosquito-repellent incense.
To discover the identity of the blackmailers, the police deposited a total of
15,000 yuan (US$1,850) into the bank account, and were then able to track down
the location of one of the men when he withdrew money.
The man, 23, was arrested in an Internet bar late on Monday. He quickly
confessed and gave the identity of his two accomplices,who were arrested
yesterday.
(China Daily 01/18/2006 page2)
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