Man in China hides in box, hires courier to 'deliver' it to building, robs resident of over S$36,200 in gold

A 46-year-old man in China concealed himself inside a package in order to infiltrate a residential building and rob a woman in her home.

The man, surnamed Zhao, hid in a wooden crate and got a courier to drop it off in the building.

He then climbed out and robbed a resident of S$36,200 in gold.

He'd done so to evade surveillance cameras.

However, he was caught within a week, reported the South China Morning Post (SCMP). 

"Trojan Horse" method

Through his "Trojan Horse" scheme, Zhao got a delivery worker to pick up his crate on Oct. 9 and drop it off in the exit passageway of the woman's apartment building in Hunan, China.

He then climbed out of the box and followed the woman home, claiming he was there to "recover a debt".

Zhao first forced her to open her safe, stealing gold items worth around S$36,200 and about S$362 in cash.

Afterwards, he made her take sleeping pills to stop her from alerting anyone.

Left through wooden box

Zhao spent four hours cleaning the flat to get rid of any evidence.

He then returned to his box, and called another delivery service to take it away.

A few hours later, the woman came to and called the police.

While the investigation initially yielded few leads, police eventually began to suspect the wooden box was involved in how Zhao entered the building.

They managed to track Zhao down and arrested him on Oct. 18.

Now in custody, Zhao said that his "Trojan Horse" scheme was inspired by television shows and said he was surprised by how quickly the police found him.

The stolen gold was also recovered by the police. The delivery workers involved were not held accountable.

Top image from Canva