They stole medicine from the hospital in units of woven bags. During the crime, they stole no more than four woven bags of medicine at a time. This was not because they followed some code of honor among thieves, but rather because if they stole more, they wouldn't be able to carry it all. Some small community hospitals originally had very little medicine. Once these hospitals were hit by the thieves, they basically had no medicine left to sell. After the Shushan police captured five members of the gang, one main suspect, Ni, was still on the run. Recently, the police learned that Ni was caught by the local police in Chizhou while committing another crime.
Prison friends "team up" to steal medicine from hospitals
A 48-year-old man named Jiang from Hefei has been in and out of prison three times since he was 20 years old. His most recent sentence was in 2001 when he was sentenced to ten years in prison, making him a familiar face inside. Due to frequent incarcerations, Jiang had few friends outside, and after being released, he remained unemployed and idle. In April 2009, his former prison mate, Ni, approached him and said there was a lucrative business opportunity, inviting him to join.
Ni mentioned that this business involved stealing medicine from hospitals. He said there was someone who bought stolen medicine and was very familiar with him, ensuring the stolen goods could be sold immediately without any worries. Thus, Jiang agreed. Since stealing medicine from hospitals posed some difficulty, the two of them sought out another former prison mate, a 47-year-old man named Liu, who readily joined them.
Around 1:00 AM on May 9, 2009, Jiang and Ni attempted their first theft. After reconnaissance, they targeted an employee hospital near the intersection of Jinzhai Road and Qimen Road as their trial target. That night, they stole two and a half woven bags of medicine and a laptop computer, totaling nearly RMB 20,000 worth of goods. Subsequently, Ni sold the batch of medicine and the computer.
Stealing until the hospital had no medicine left
At around 1:00 AM on June 21, 2009, when Jiang and Ni decided to steal again, Liu joined them, forming the initial structure of their "medicine-stealing gang." Subsequently, they stole three woven bags of medicine from a community hospital in the Shushan District, totaling over RMB 13,000 worth.
From that day onward, Jiang and the other two made stealing medicine their regular job, committing minor thefts every three days and major ones every half month. They not only stole in Hefei but also in places like Chaohu. Some small community hospitals originally had very little medicine. Once hit by their thefts, these hospitals were basically left with no medicine to sell.
In the early hours of September 15, 2009, at a large hospital near the intersection of Huizhou Avenue and Jiuhua Mountain Road, they stole four woven bags of medicine in one go, amounting to nearly RMB 130,000 worth of drugs.
Discarding tools after each use
In February this year, due to multiple thefts in hospitals within the jurisdiction, the Shushan police connected similar cases. In late February, the Criminal Investigation Team One of the Shushan Public Security Bureau formed a special task force to investigate this gang's medicine theft case.
On April 22, the series of gang theft cases was listed as a key supervised case by the Provincial Public Security Department’s Criminal Investigation Corps.
Through analysis of surveillance footage inside the stolen hospitals and nearby intersections, the police quickly identified the suspects and arrested Jiang, Liu, and five others on the afternoon of May 22. The vigilant Ni managed to escape during the operation.
According to the suspects' confession, for each crime, they would purchase screwdrivers, white gloves, and reinforced pliers to cut through security windows, discarding them after each use. "They said that carrying these items, if encountered by the police, would definitely raise suspicion."
Attempting to steal medicine elsewhere, but failing to escape this time
Among those captured alongside Jiang and the other medicine thieves were a 56-year-old man named Li and a 34-year-old man named Cheng. These two, father-in-law and son-in-law respectively, were arrested for receiving stolen goods.
"Ni's mentioned medicine buyer was Li," according to the police officer. Knowing full well that Ni and others’ medicine was stolen property, Li still went ahead with the purchases, driven by the lure of huge profits. "Jiang and Ni sold the stolen medicine very cheaply, and Li and Cheng could make high profits just by reselling it." Li confessed that most of the medicine they purchased was sold to clinics in Henan Province and other remote areas. According to statistics, the value of stolen medicine over ten months amounted to more than RMB 500,000.
After the incident, Ni fled. Recently, the police received news from Chizhou that after fleeing, Ni did not disappear but instead gathered a few people in Chizhou to resume stealing medicine. During one such operation, Ni and others were unable to escape and were captured by the local police. "After Ni finishes confessing about the crimes in Chizhou, he will be brought back to Hefei," reported our journalist Han Zhenzhen.