Bank robbery at the end of the year
Sitting in the chair in front of the transaction counter, the young man stood up, revealing his true form as a robber. He shouted loudly, suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at the bank employees, showing off his authority and threatening them. The robber climbed onto the transaction counter table, threw his backpack inside, continued pointing the gun at a female employee, asking to put the piles of 500,000 VND denominations placed on the table into the backpack.
Seeing that the female employee was “buying time”, the robber eagerly climbed through the glass to get inside and personally put the piles of money into the black backpack. Within a few dozen seconds, the robber put all the piles of money at the transaction counter into the backpack on his right shoulder and jumped out. This daring robbery occurred on the afternoon of the last working day of February 7, 2024 (28 Tet) at Vietinbank Bank branch in Lien Nghia town, Duc Trong district, Lam Dong province.
From the scene records, it was shown that the suspect used an old plum-colored Dream motorbike to flee. Faced with the shouts of bank security, the robber immediately pointed his gun and shot at the security guard. Fortunately, the bullet only grazed the victim’s neck below, causing scratches to his skin and tearing his shirt. To show off his authority and threaten those who intended to pursue him, before getting on his motorbike to flee, the robber also raised his gun and shot at the crowd, but the bullet jammed and did not explode.
As soon as he received the information, Colonel Truong Minh Duong, Director of Lam Dong Provincial Police, and Colonel Dinh Xuan Huy, Deputy Director, Head of the Police Investigation Agency, arrived at the scene to direct the investigation to arrest the robber. In parallel with the arrest, the police force blocked the scene to examine the scene and take statements from the victims and those involved. The authorities determined that the amount of money the subject stole was up to more than 35 billion VND. The robber committed an extremely reckless and reckless act of robbery on the afternoon of the last working day of the year when bank employees were counting money for storage. This is also the time when very few people come to the bank to make transactions, which is a favorable condition to use guns to control, threaten and rob property. This shows that the robber had carefully calculated and prepared before committing the above act.
The dramatic chase
Lieutenant Colonel Le Thai, Head of Duc Trong District Police, said that the process of arresting the robber encountered many difficulties because the subject constantly changed his appearance while fleeing. This robber had a gun and was extremely reckless. The subject is ready to shoot at anyone when hindered in pursuit. This increases the pressure, difficulty and danger for the forces involved in the pursuit and ensuring the lives and health of the people. Together with Duc Trong District Police, officers and soldiers of the Criminal Police Department of Lam Dong Provincial Police and related professional departments have also been mobilized to investigate and arrest the robbers.
Right at the scene of the case, the Director of Lam Dong Provincial Police and the Head of the Police Investigation Agency assigned Lieutenant Colonel Le Thai Truong Duc Trong district police and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dang Van Kien, Head of the Criminal Police Department, were team leaders and directly directed two working groups to quickly track and arrest the robbers. The requirement for the leaders of the two working groups is to arrest the perpetrator as soon as possible but must ensure absolute safety for the arresting police force and the lives and property of the people.< /p>
From the initial information and documents collected on the afternoon of February 7, the police force has zoned in to screen suspicious subjects. Using many professional measures, the police created a portrait of the subject who committed the violent robbery at Vietinbank branch in Lien Nghia town, Duc Trong district on the afternoon of February 7, namely Nguyen Thanh Trung (born in 1992, residing in Tam commune). Di Linh district, Lam Dong province).
Recently, Nguyen Thanh Trung came to rent a room in Lien Nghia town to live. Trung works as a real estate broker. Due to business losses and heavy debt, many creditors pressured him to collect his debt. In this case, the investigation agency did not arrest the robber according to the plan of chasing the subject’s escape route, but through early screening identified the suspect thanks to very strict management of the subject’s records. In addition to the images collected by the bank’s security cameras and the camera system in the area to help screen the subject, the Police force had very reliable and accurate information about the subject immediately after the incident. robbery.
The reconnaissance source also determined in advance the time of the bank robbery on the morning of the same day. Nguyen Thanh Trung went to a garage in Lien Nghia town to receive the package and left looking like full of suspicion. The day before, this subject also went to Vietinbank branch in Lien Nghia town (where the robbery took place) to open an account. The camera recorded here shows that the subject appeared to observe and study the activities of bank employees counting money. Where Nguyen Thanh Trung rented a house, witnesses confirmed that the subject had a Dream motorbike and had recently added an old Air Blade. In addition, Nguyen Thanh Trung also has a cargo truck. When correctly identifying Nguyen Thanh Trung as the suspect who committed the brazen robbery, all pursuits were directed towards this subject, especially zoning in to prevent the robber from having the opportunity to escape to the provinces. nearby and abroad.
Around 2 a.m. on February 8 when Nguyen Thanh Trung was leisurely moving in the car machine with a backpack on its back at Highway 1A in Ham Thuan Bac district, Binh Thuan province, when suddenly police forces came to control and arrest him. All the assets of more than 35 billion VND that the robber robbed from the bank were recovered by the police force.
Recounting the moment of suppressing the robber who was on the run, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Le Thai Truong. Duc Trong district police said that as soon as it was determined that Nguyen Thanh Trung was on the run towards Binh Thuan province, all arrests by the police force were led by Senior Lieutenant Colonel Le Thai and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dang Van Kien. which is towards Ham Thuan Bac district, Binh Thuan province. At this time, the robber changed his clothes, shoes, and motorbike helmet to disguise himself as a completely different person from his appearance when he robbed, but the subject’s behavior still could not escape the eyes of seasoned criminal detectives. experience.
The moment of discovering the approaching car robber led by Lieutenant Colonel Phan Huu Son, Captain of the Duc Trong District Police Criminal Police Team carrying Lieutenant Colonel Le Thai, suddenly approached the motorbike. of the subject… The moment the robber was controlled and arrested by the police only happened in just a few dozen seconds. Searching Nguyen Thanh Trung’s body, the police did not discover the gun Trung used to threaten bank employees. That same night, the robber was transported to the Duc Trong District Police headquarters to serve the investigation.
At the Investigation Agency, Nguyen Thanh Trung confessed that he had many creditors due to business losses. Pressured the subject to repay the debt, he robbed the bank and then fled to Cambodia. To commit the above act, Trung went online to order a gun from an unknown person in Ho Chi Minh City for 8 million VND. After transferring money on the morning of February 7, Trung went to a garage in Lien Nghia town, Duc Trong district, and received the goods as a gun with 6 bullets. To distract the Central Police force, they also prepared two motorcycles insurance different clothes and shoes… to constantly change shape while running away after robbing a bank.
Trung took advantage of the late afternoon of the last working day of 2023 When the bank no longer has people coming to make transactions, it is the time when people let their guard down the most to rob. After using a gun to threaten and intimidate the Central Bank employees, he stole more than 3.5 billion VND, put it in a black backpack, got on a motorbike and drove towards Nam Son Lake, Lien Nghia town, Duc Trong district. Here, the robber took off his clothes, changed his shoes, put the money he had just stolen into another prepared backpack, and threw all the clothes, shoes, and backpacks he had just changed into the lake. On the way to escape, the robber chose small roads with no traffic and no cameras. To distract the pursuing force, Trung ran back to Da Lat City but then circled back to Duc Trong district.
The gun was used to threaten employees and shoot bank guards. The subject made a crooked statement saying he dropped it on the way to escape and could not determine the location of the drop because he fled at night. However, the robber’s deception could not escape the investigation officers. Faced with irrefutable evidence, Nguyen Thanh Trung was forced to admit that he threw the gun into Nam Son Lake. At noon on February 8, the authorities organized a search and discovered this gun along with the shoes the subject changed after committing the robbery. At another location under the lake, the police also found the original backpack containing the money from the bank robbery, including the helmet and clothes that were changed after the crime, along with two rocks to hold other items. sank to the bottom of the lake.
Before committing the crime, Trung had carefully prepared a detailed plan for his escape. To deal with the police force on the way to Binh Thuan province, the subject changed his appearance many times by changing clothes, helmets and shoes.
“Especially when approaching When the suspect was on the run, we calculated carefully when the two robbers were driving the motorbike so that if they were suddenly controlled while the vehicle was running, the culprit would not have time to pull out their gun Suspicion of controlling and arresting a subject while driving is the best option,” Lieutenant Colonel Le Thai recounted.
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