Gang that specializes in robbing women of cell phones prosecuted

The defendants Tran Duc Anh (23 years old), Doan Van Phu (22 years old), Thai Van Nhan (29 years old), all residing in Long Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, were prosecuted for robbery and Ngo Van Hoang (27 years old), residing in Tang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, for receiving property obtained by crime.

Recently, in Yen Thanh district and neighboring districts, there have been a series of mobile phone snatching cases. Many of the cases occurred in broad daylight, the subjects used many bold and daring tricks and coordinated very professionally. In addition, the stolen mobile phones were all very expensive.

To quickly restore security and order, and at the same time reassure the people, Yen Thanh District Police have established a Project with code 419CG to arrest the subjects. While the Project Board is urgently investigating and verifying the suspects in the area, on April 3, Ms. LTG, residing in My Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, went to the investigation agency to report that she had her iPhone8 Plus snatched by a group of subjects.

Four members of a group that specializes in snatching cell phones from women were arrested. Photo: Quynh Trang

According to Ms. LTG's report at around 9:00 p.m. the same day, this woman was traveling on National Highway 7A, passing through Khanh Thanh commune, when two young men on a motorbike approached her, snatched the phone she was holding, and quickly sped away into the night.

On April 16, another woman came forward to report that her phone had been robbed. The victim was Ms. PTO (28 years old), residing in Xuan Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. According to the report, at around 6:30 p.m. the same day, this woman was also forced to the sidewalk by two subjects driving a motorbike at high speed and snatched an Oppo phone.

Through professional measures, the task force quickly identified the three suspects Tran Duc Anh, Doan Van Phu, and Thai Van Nhan as the robbers who committed the crimes in the above cases. This group of suspects showed signs of financial irregularities, as they often gathered, partied, and were often absent from the locality in the evening and at noon.

After snatching the phones, the group went to the mobile phone store owned by Ngo Van Hoang to sell them. With the money from the sale, they used drugs and rented hotels and motels to stay overnight.

After consolidating sufficient evidence, Yen Thanh District Police issued an emergency arrest warrant for Tran Duc Anh, Doan Van Phu and Thai Van Nhan for robbery. At the same time, Ngo Van Hoang was arrested for receiving property obtained by others through crime.

Evidence of the cases. Photo: Quynh Trang

In their initial statements, the suspects admitted to having successfully carried out 12 cell phone robberies. It is worth noting that the robbers targeted people with weak resistance, such as women and the elderly. The robbers' accomplice, Ngo Van Hoang, confessed that after buying the phones from the robbers, he jailbroke them, reinstalled the software, and then resold them to customers at high prices to make a profit.

As for highly secure mobile phones like the iPhone that cannot be unlocked, Hoang will disassemble each part and sell the components.

Yen Thanh District Police have seized 12 mobile phones with a total value of about 120 million VND as evidence from the robberies. Currently, the investigation agency is completing procedures to return these assets to the victims.