Beijing police will intensify their presence on Yabao Road, a busy trading area in Chaoyang district, following a recent $750,000 armed robbery case.

"There will be more plainclothes police officers patrolling the area to safeguard public security," Li Baohua, the press officer in Chaoyang district police bureau, told METRO yesterday.

Yabao Road, near the Second Ring Road, is a trading center for goods with Russia and a famous location to buy fur.

On Nov 7, Beijing police took just seven hours to crack a major robbery case on Yabao Road, capturing 15 suspects and seizing $750,000.

Four masked men used 50-cm knives to attack two male victims near Yabao Road, stealing cases that held $750,000, police said. The suspects escaped in a Geely car.

Gao Yinlong, a police officer in Chaoyang district who was investigating a drug case nearby, followed the car along the Second Ring Road without sounding his alarm. His assistant was with him.

About 20 minutes later, the Geely car stopped near Dongsishitiao Bridge and the four suspects got out. They climbed into two taxis and continued along the road. Gao followed one of the taxis.

When the taxi stopped at a red light in front of the north gate of the Workers' Stadium, Gao took action.

With the help of his assistant, Gao subdued the two suspects.

A police support unit found two meat cleavers and three fruit knives on the pair.

That same evening, using a confession from the two suspects, Beijing police succeeded in capturing the other two suspects in Fengtai district. They seized $350,000 and 190,000 yuan of money that had already been exchanged from US dollars.

After a second round of interrogation, police learned that the gang's leader Li Hui, a 29-year-old Beijing resident, had escaped to Liaoning province.

With the cooperation of Liaoning police, Beijing police succeeded in capturing Li and three other suspects. The police also arrested seven other suspects, but without revealing details.

Police said Li had noticed the victims were often carrying large suitcases of money. He had checked out the location 10 times during the 3 days before the robbery.

"The rapid detection of this serious robbery case represents the ability of capital police to combat emergency cases and reflects the combat level of the police," said Ma Zhenchuan, the commissioner of the Beijing municipal public security bureau.