TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prosecutors on Wednesday (June 10) requested the detention of three Colombian nationals arrested Monday in Kaohsiung in connection with the theft of nearly NT$7 million (US$236,417) from a residence in the Taipei district of Neihu.

The suspects allegedly broke into a Taiwanese businessperson's residence on June 5 and stole NT$6.8 million in cash, CNA reported. After receiving reports of the theft, police reviewed surveillance footage and closed in on the three Colombian nationals, all of whom are in their 30s; the suspects were apprehended in the southern city of Kaohsiung Tuesday night.

Liu Zong-ren (劉宗仁), chief of the criminal investigation squad at Neihu Precinct, said in a Wednesday press conference that the three suspects had entered Taiwan through Kaohsiung on tourist visas.

They arrived separately over three days around mid-March, just in time to avoid quarantine. They headed to Taipei in April, staying in hotels there for over a month.

The suspects had planned to leave Taiwan for Singapore after the burglary, but they could not get plane tickets due to the pandemic, Liu said.

After their arrests Tuesday night, police tracked down the stolen money and found that NT$6.38 million remained.

The suspects told the authorities that they had chosen their victim randomly. However, based on the surveillance video, they appear to have gone directly to the victim's house after leaving the MRT station.

Police suspect that accomplices who provided intel on the victim may still be at large.