Thieves in China's Henan province raided a cemetery, stealing urns to use as bargaining chips to blackmail relatives of the deceased, media reports said.
Liu, one of the victims, informed the police that she had been in contact with members of the gang that had stolen her husband's ashes, Henan Television Station reported last week.
A cemetery in Xinyang City called Liu last Thursday to break the news that that her husband's tomb had been looted, and his urn was missing.
Another tomb nearby was also burgled. A telephone number had been left on the headstones of the ransacked tombs, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
When Liu called the number, the person that answered told her that the urn would only be returned if a ransom of 20,000 yuan (USD 3,136) was paid.
The raiders demanded more money even after ransom was paid.
Cemetery employees said that the crime bore the hallmarks of an experienced, well-organised mission, based on the limited evidence left at the scene.
Currently, they believe it could be the work of an organised gang that travel around the country, the report said.
