The robbers rushed out of the bushes onto the highway, holding swords at the driver.
The group of robbers hiding in the bushes saw the truck and immediately drove their motorbikes out to block it, revving the engine to demand money.
Three days after being robbed in Ha Tinh, driver Phan Van Trong (45 years old, residing in Nui Thanh district, Quang Nam) is still in shock. His voice trembling, he said that on the evening of May 17, while driving a container truck through a deserted road with no houses in Ky Tan commune (Ky Anh district). Suddenly, he saw 3 men on motorbikes coming out of the bushes, revving their engines, holding weapons and demanding that they stop.
The container truck stopped, one of them was holding a sword, the other was holding a fist-sized rock, standing below, knocking on the glass door demanding money. "Seeing the sharp, shiny sword, I was scared, I pressed the door latch in time, only opened the window a little to confront them. Luckily when the three people rushed out into the middle of the road, I braked in time, if we had hit them, the consequences would have been unpredictable," said Mr. Trong.
When the robbers demanded 200,000 VND, Mr. Trong said he didn't have any, only 50,000 VND more. The male driver tried to prolong the time waiting for a vehicle to come and ask for help, but it was late at night so there was no one. After 10 minutes of "bargaining", the robbers lowered themselves and asked for 100,000 VND to let them go.
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The weapon the robbers used to threaten driver Trong. Photo:D.H. |
The driver from Quang Nam said that at that time, the container truck was carrying a shipment of cars in the back. He was forced to cooperate with them because he was afraid of being hit by rocks thrown at the back of the new cars, and at that time he had no money to pay for the damage.
"I then reported the incident to the police and called my fellow cargo carriers to be careful and stick together when passing through this route," said Mr. Trong.
Mr. Trong assessed that the robbers targeted trucks and containers traveling alone. If two vehicles were traveling together, they would not attack.
Camouflage to catch robbers on the highway
At around 9:30 p.m. the same day, Captain Nguyen Minh Hien - Deputy Head of the Southern Traffic Police (Ha Tinh Police) received a report from driver Trong about the robbery. He immediately reported the incident to the Ky Anh District Police to send more officers to join forces to arrest him.
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Criminal police control the robbers. Photo:D.H. |
Authorities said that in the past week, two drivers reported being robbed. The robbers were very reckless. When they saw a truck about to pass, they jumped out in front of the truck, revved the engine, and held swords to block the way.
The traffic police team led by Captain Hien drove slowly to investigate, take pictures of the road and suspicious people.
At 10:30 p.m. the same day, about 20 policemen arrived at the location where the robbers were believed to be hiding in the bushes in Ky Tan commune. The four robbers thought the police car was a long-distance truck, so they jumped out onto the road, blocked it, and revved the engine.
Dozens of police officers immediately jumped in to arrest them. Four big, strong, aggressive robbers, reeking of alcohol, tried to jump on their motorbikes and run away but failed. They immediately grabbed rocks and swords to fight back. The detectives knocked each robber down on the street, took away their swords, and handcuffed them. The struggle lasted for dozens of minutes, many policemen were scratched, one was injured and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
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Four suspects at the investigation agency. Photo:D.H. |
According to Ky Anh District Police, four suspects are being detained for robbery under Article 168 of the 2015 Penal Code, including Nguyen Van Quang (24 years old), Nguyen Minh Vuong (17 years old), Truong Xuan The (27 years old) and Truong Cong Thin (18 years old). Quang and Vuong are brothers.
The and Thin said that a week ago they went to Ky Anh town to play and met Quang and his brother. After a drinking session, the group discussed robbing to get money to spend. Because the section of National Highway 1A in Ky Tan commune had no lights and no people living there, they decided to choose it as a place to "ambush" the driver.
The robbers prepared homemade swords and rocks, and when they saw a single truck, they immediately lined up in the middle of the road to "ask for some spending money". Each time they asked for 100,000-200,000 VND. On the evening of May 17 alone, Vuong's group stopped 8 drivers and robbed 800,000 VND.
