Committed 11 robberies in three years, 'earned' nearly 500 million VND

Very reckless and always carrying a military gun with him..., that is the trick Tran Que Lam (47 years old, registered residence at Thai Thinh collective, Nga Tu So ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi), a subject with 2 criminal records and 5 previous convictions, used to commit consecutive crimes.

According to Lam's statement, from 2014 to the time of his arrest in August 2017, he had committed 11 robberies, with the amount of money he appropriated reaching nearly 500 million VND.

When Tran Que Lam was arrested, his ex-wife and his mistress who was living with him as husband and wife were all surprised. Lam was very secretive, so even the woman who was “next to him” did not know where he went or what he did every day. As for the residents living in a high-end apartment complex in Nhan Chinh ward, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi, everyone was surprised by the news that he was a professional robber.

To the neighbors living next door, Lam appeared to be very friendly. Every day, he left home early in the morning, dressed neatly like a civil servant, and in the afternoon he picked up and dropped off his children and returned home on time...

With 2 criminal records, 5 previous convictions for robbery, theft, and intentional injury, Tran Que Lam was extremely cunning in creating a secret cover. The Future motorbike was the vehicle used to commit the crime, and he parked it on a plot of land, far from the apartment complex where he lived.

Subject Tran Que Lam and the gun used to commit the crime.

When leaving home, Lam used the motorbike he usually used to pick up and drop off his 10-year-old son, but when committing the crime, he used the Future motorbike. When traveling on the road, the subject wore a fake license plate and strictly followed traffic safety regulations. While hunting his prey, he often changed his identity.

The first case Lam committed was at around 10:40 am on October 27, 2014 on Tran Danh Tuyen Street (Vincom area) in Viet Hung Ward - Long Bien. When discovering Ms. Tran Thi Le Ngoan (residing in Group 17, Thuong Thanh, Long Bien) was traveling on the street, the subject approached and snatched a handbag containing personal documents, a pink Sony Ericsson mobile phone and 18 million VND...

After this case, Lam stopped for a while and then continued to operate with a more reckless and daring nature: at 10:55 a.m. on September 25, 2016, in Giang Bien ward, the subject robbed Ms. Le Phuong Anh (living in apartment building A4 Ham Nghi, My Dinh ward, Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi) of a handbag containing 1 iPad 2, 1 pink Samsung Galaxy A5, 4 million VND; at 6:45 a.m. on May 15, 2016, on Doan Khue street, Viet Hung ward, Long Bien district, Tran Que Lam robbed Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Hanh (registered residence: No. 22BT2, Linh Dam, Hoang Liet ward, Hoang Mai district, Hanoi) of 1 iPad air, 1 Samsung phone, 7 million VND and some other documents.

At around 11:30 on February 11, on Sai Dong Street (Vinhome area) in Phuc Loi Ward, Long Bien, another robbery occurred with similar methods. While traveling on the street, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thuy (residing in Group 8, Sai Dong Ward, Long Bien District) was robbed of a handbag containing an ID card, ATM card and 1.5 million VND.

In this case, the robber's recklessness was shown in that, when the supermarket security guard chased him, he recklessly used a gun to threaten the employee and then ran away...

To prevent the activities of criminals, the Criminal Police Team of Long Bien District Police established a case to fight. With the coordination of forces including the Criminal Police Department of Hanoi City Police; Company 3, Mobile Police Regiment; Traffic Police Department of Hanoi City Police, the Criminal Police Team created a continuous formation in patrolling and controlling at the gateways to the district.

On the morning of August 10, a task force on patrol to prevent robbery and snatching in the district discovered a young man with similar characteristics to the subject who committed a series of robberies in the area.

The task force quickly deployed forces to chase and arrest the subject, confiscating a pistol and a red and black Future motorbike which were the means of committing the crime. At the police station, Tran Que Lam confessed to 11 robberies in Long Bien district.

According to Lam’s statement, while committing the crime, Lam always carried a gun with him, ready to fight back in case of arrest. Lam often targeted weak women, but there were many cases of him also committing the crime against men, with the amount of property taken being very large.

Typically, at 1:30 p.m. on March 20, on Van Hanh Street, Duc Giang Ward, Lam committed the act of snatching property from Dong Thien Minh (36 years old, Chinese nationality). The stolen property was a handbag containing many personal documents, an ATM card and 297 million VND.

Based on Lam's criminal behavior, the Long Bien District Police Department has decided to temporarily detain Lam for the acts of possessing military weapons, resisting law enforcement officers, and robbery.

The case is currently being investigated and expanded by Long Bien District Police. Anyone who is a victim of the case is requested to report to the police.

According to CAND