Five suspects arrested in Nghe An province for carrying Molotov cocktails while attempting to steal dogs.

On May 31st, the Criminal Investigation Department of Yen Thanh District Police announced that they had successfully cracked a property theft case in the area. Currently, the investigating agency is holding five suspects in custody to gather evidence for prosecution and indictment of these individuals for the crime."theft of property"

According to information from the investigating agency, recently, there have been many cases of "dog theft" in Yen Thanh district, causing public outrage and indignation. In response to this situation, the Yen Thanh District Police leadership directed the Criminal, Economic, and Narcotics Investigation Team to establish a special task force to combat and arrest dog thieves, ensuring security and order in the area.

Weapons used by the suspects when stealing dogs. Photo: Thao Nguyen

After more than a month of diligently monitoring the movements of suspected individuals and employing various investigative techniques, the special task force had sufficient evidence to prove the criminal activities of the group specializing in dog theft in the area.

At approximately 9 PM on May 29, 2021, intelligence indicated that a group of individuals specializing in dog theft were present at the home of Thai Van Thanh (born in 1970), residing in Van Trai hamlet, Long Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. Immediately, the special task force directed its teams to secretly approach and arrest the suspects, including: Thai Van Thanh (the homeowner); Nguyen Duy Dong (born in 2001), residing in Hamlet 3B, Tang Thanh commune; and Hoang Dinh Tham (born in 1986), residing in Van Trang hamlet, Long Thanh commune, for the crime of theft.

The seized items included 50 dogs, weighing a total of 480kg; 3 motorbikes; 3 electric devices used to catch dogs; 3 12V batteries and 220V voltage booster capacitors; 2 empty beer bottles used for self-defense if discovered; 5 knives and swords of various types; and 3 cans of gasoline to supply fuel to the dog thieves.

The number of dogs that were still alive was seized. Photo: Thao Nguyen

In the fight against the suspects, on May 30th, the Yen Thanh District Police arrested two more accomplices: Thai Duy Thang, residing in Hamlet 8, Xuan Thanh Commune, and Hoang Dinh Hieu, residing in Van Trang Hamlet, Long Thanh Commune.

Currently, the investigating agency has clarified that Thai Van Thanh is the owner of the dog breeding facility and also the person who provided the motorbike, fuel, and tools for stealing dogs (fishing rods, electric shock devices, knives, and beer bottles – used for self-defense if discovered) to the above-mentioned individuals to carry out the dog theft. The dogs stolen by the individuals were all sold back to Thai Van Thanh at a cheap price.

The method and tactics used by this group of dog thieves typically involved two shifts at night (the first near dusk and the second at dawn), avoiding detection by residents and law enforcement. They usually worked in pairs; before stealing dogs, they would go to Thanh's house to get their tools of the trade (clothing, electric shock devices, snares, gasoline bottles, knives, etc.) before traveling together to search various areas for dog theft.

After stealing the dog, they called Thanh to come to a secluded place to transport the stolen property. The suspects then went to Thanh's house to weigh the dog and calculate the price (Thanh bought each kilogram of dog for 50,000 VND), and at the same time, they removed their clothes and dog-stealing tools before going home.

The dog thieves (from right to left): Dong, Hieu, Tham, Thang, and Thanh. Photo: Thao Nguyen

Notably, this group was very aggressive, fully armed (knives, swords, gasoline bottles), and when discovered by residents, they would throw gasoline bottles and threaten them with knives and swords.

To date, the Criminal Investigation Agency of Yen Thanh District Police has initially determined that this group of suspects successfully carried out 15 dog thefts in the area. As of 10:00 AM on May 30th, 10 victims had come forward to report and identify their stolen property.