Police in Kazakhstan's capital have solved a theft at a city market after three men allegedly acted in prior conspiracy, dividing the roles among themselves in advance, the website infohub.kz reports.
According to the Astana Police Department, the suspects stole a woman's bag containing cash and gold jewelry from a car. The total material damage is estimated at 500,000 tenge.
"The investigation established that unidentified persons illegally entered the interior of a Lexus RX 270 parked on the territory of the market and secretly stole a brown women's bag. The bag contained 80,000 tenge, 100 US dollars and gold jewelry. The total material damage amounted to 500,000 tenge. A pre-trial investigation has been launched into the incident under Article 188 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan," the police statement said.
It emerged that the victim had left the car near a container at the market without locking it and without keeping an eye on the vehicle.
"A review of CCTV footage established that the suspects acted in prior conspiracy. One of them followed the victim and watched her movements. A second stayed some distance from the scene and kept watch on the surroundings. A third suspect approached the car, got inside and stole the bag. After committing the crime, the suspects went their separate ways, but later met again at the exit from the market and left the scene together," the police added.
The suspects were detained as a result of operational search measures. They are currently being held in a temporary detention facility.
"Police urge citizens not to leave valuables inside their cars, to be sure to lock their vehicles and to observe security precautions," the Police Department said.