Hong Kong police foil dramatic robbery attempt caught on CCTV

File photo taken on September 17, 2008 shows a heavily polluted Hong Kong skyline from the Tsim Tsa Tsui waterfront. France Media Agency

HONG KONG — Hong Kong police have arrested five men who attempted to rob a jewelry store, with dramatic footage showing the masked attackers wielding machetes and sledgehammers inside the store.

The attempted daytime robbery took place in the busy Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district on Tuesday, when the five men were shown on CCTV footage getting out of a white car.

They rushed into a watch and jewelry store and began smashing windows, while employees appeared to be waiting.

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Less than 20 seconds later, according to the footage, plainclothes police officers rushed to the scene, guns drawn, stunning the group who threw down their weapons and fell to the ground.

Police Commissioner Gar Kam-lam said criminal investigators had collected intelligence and knew that luxury goods stores around Tsim Sha Tsui were a frequent target for thefts.

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“The officers saw the men enter the store with machetes and hammers, so the officers entered the store and managed to subdue them,” he said during a press briefing.

The five people arrested were aged between 23 and 36, with only one of them holding a Hong Kong ID card.

Two others held commitment forms that allow them to stay in the city but prohibit them from working, while the other two are suspected of being illegal immigrants, Gar said.