Dismantling a theft ring, 'dissecting' motorbikes and selling them

On October 19, Ha Dong District Police said that the unit had investigated, clarified the identity and completely dismantled an inter-provincial and transnational motorbike theft and consumption ring, arresting 8 subjects...

Previously, on October 15, Van Quan Ward Police, Ha Dong District received a report from Mr. Hoang Xuan Vi (born 2003, hometown Ninh Binh) that on the night of October 14, a thief stole his blue Honda Wave motorbike with license plate number: 17B6 - 419..., parked in alley 33 Luong Ngoc Quyen, Van Quan Ward.

Mr. Vi subjectively thought that his vehicle was secured with a U-lock, so he did not bring it to the parking lot. However, the U-lock was still ineffective because the thief used hydraulic pliers to cut it...

Identifying this as a professional criminal gang, the leaders of Ha Dong District Police directed the Criminal Police Team to coordinate with Van Quan Ward Police to establish a working group and urgently deploy professional measures to organize the arrest.

By professional measures, within 24 hours of investigation and tracing, in coordination with the Huong Thuy Town Police, Thua Thien Hue Province, the Ha Dong District Police working group clarified and arrested and searched 8 subjects who had committed acts of property theft and consumption of property obtained by others through crime, including: Nguyen Van Quyen (born in 1988, residing in Dong Xuan Commune, Soc Son District, Hanoi City, with 2 previous convictions for property theft and property fraud); Luu Van Thuy (born in 1990, residing in Thach Da Commune, Me Linh District, Hanoi City, with 5 previous convictions, 1 previous conviction all related to property theft); Bui Huy Tuyen (born in 1996, hometown Lap Thach, Vinh Phuc Province); Phan Van Canh (born in 1989, hometown Hau Loc, Thanh Hoa Province, residing in Me Tri Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi City); Bui Van Giang (born in 2000, hometown in Tu Ky district, Hai Duong, residing in Kim Lien ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi); Luu Kim Thinh (born in 1988, residing in Tay Mo ward, Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi); Le Van Luan (born in 1991, hometown in Thuy Tan commune, Huong Thuy town, Thua Thien Hue province) and Le Van Luu (born in 1994, residing in Huong Thuy town, Thua Thien Hue province).

The police seized evidence including: hydraulic pliers, 1 screwdriver, 3 wrenches, 13 motorbikes of various types and many disassembled motorbike parts.

At the police station, the suspects confessed that from the beginning of October until their arrest, they had committed 20 consecutive motorbike thefts in Hanoi.

Specifically, in early August 2024, Nguyen Van Quyen, Luu Van Thuy and Bui Huy Tuyen, three vagrants, met and became acquainted in the Hoa Binh Park area in Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi. Very quickly, they caught the "wave" and invited each other to go steal motorbikes.

The gang planned to roam around at night, looking for motorbikes left on the street, unattended, and then attack. Initially, they looked for unlocked motorbikes, unlocked steering wheel, unlocked for wiring or used pliers to break the electric locks. But during the theft, they noticed that many motorbikes were locked with U-locks, so they bought hydraulic pliers to cut all kinds of locks.

After taking the stolen assets, Quyen, Thuy, and Tuyen went online and joined a group called “buying and selling vehicles without papers” to find a connection, then connected and sold them to Phan Van Canh and Bui Van Giang (owners of motorbike repair shops) for 3-4 million VND/vehicle. Then, Canh sold them to Luu Kim Thinh’s “vehicle slaughterhouse”. Bringing them back to the “slaughterhouse”, Thinh removed the spare parts, ground the frame and engine numbers of the vehicles, then posted them for sale on social networking sites and shipped them to provinces across the country.

Unlike Thinh, Giang bought the car and immediately sold it to Le Van Luan, who then transferred it to Thua Thien - Hue for his younger brother, Le Van Luu, so that Luu could find a way to illegally transfer the car to the other side of the border for sale.