Warning about robbery of taxi drivers

(Baonghean.vn) - Recently, in Hung Nguyen (Nghe An) and some neighboring areas, there have been cases of robberies of taxi drivers. The subjects often pretend to be customers renting taxis, then take the driver to a deserted road, use knives to threaten the driver to rob the property, causing much panic among taxi drivers. Faced with this situation, Hung Nguyen District Police have established a special project to investigate and clarify.

At about 10:30 p.m. on March 23, 2014, Mr. Nguyen Van Cong (born 1982), a Mekong taxi driver, went to the police station to report that two young men pretended to be customers calling a taxi from Vinh City to Hung Tay, Hung Nguyen, then used a knife to control and rob him of his cell phone and wallet, then used the safety belt on the driver's seat to tie Mr. Cong up to make it easier to escape.

Mr. Cong, still not over the confusion, recounted: At 9:00 p.m. the same day, he was informed by the Mekong taxi operator to pick up passengers at No. 16, Doc Thiet Street, Vinh City. When he drove to the above location, two young men picked up the car and told him to take him to Hung Tay (Hung Nguyen) via National Highway 46B. When they reached the section of road in Dai Hue I hamlet (Hung Tay, Hung Nguyen), a deserted location, a young man sitting in the back seat used a knife to hold to Mr. Cong's neck and asked him not to resist. When Mr. Cong intended to resist, the young man sitting in the passenger seat continued to use a knife to hold to his chest so that the person sitting behind cut the seat belt on the driver's seat to tie Mr. Cong up and rob his cell phone and wallet. However, while the subjects were carrying out the act, a patrol team of Hung Tay Commune Police patrolling nearby saw something suspicious and approached to check, but the two subjects opened the car door and escaped.

Subjects at the police station (from left to right: Anh, Son, Doan)

From the victim's statement combined with the local situation, it can be seen that from the beginning of March until now, there have been a number of robberies of taxi drivers with similar methods and tricks. The Investigation Police Agency of Hung Nguyen District Police has established a special investigation project with code 413CTX, focusing on investigating and checking criminals in Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan and Vinh City. However, during the investigation, the Special Investigation Team encountered many difficulties. Major Phan Ngoc Thanh - Captain of the Criminal Investigation Team on Social Order, Hung Nguyen District Police said: When the passengers got on the bus, the driver did not pay attention to the passengers' identification characteristics. The subjects used masks to cover their faces and baseball caps to cover their heads, so when the incident occurred, the victims could not reflect the characteristics of the subjects. In addition, the subjects are local people who go to other areas to direct drivers to deserted places, often fields, far from residential areas, so the verification work is difficult.

By using a combination of professional measures, the detectives discovered two subjects: Hoang Van Son (born in 1996), residing in Hamlet 7, Nam Loc Commune, Nam Dan, and Nguyen Duong Phuc Anh (born in 1997), residing in Hamlet 4, Nam Tan Commune, Nam Dan. Son and Anh are two young, delinquent, homeless people who showed signs of using crystal meth. At 9:00 p.m. on March 24, 2014, immediately after consolidating the evidence, the Investigation Police Department of Hung Nguyen District Police urgently arrested the two subjects when they were present at the roller skating area at 92 Doc Thiet Street, Vinh City.

At the police station, the two subjects confessed to having robbed the driver of a Mekong taxi company. Since the beginning of March, they and their accomplices have committed three other robberies using similar methods in the Hung Nguyen and Nam Dan areas. To have money to spend, the subjects planned to rob property. Their targets were taxi drivers. One night, they carried out two robberies in a row, by taking the taxi driver to a deserted location, threatening him with a knife to rob him, then asking the driver to call another driver, tying up the two victims in one taxi and using the other taxi to escape.

Expanding the investigation, the police force arrested and searched the residence of Hoang Nghia Doan (born in 1989), residing in block 9, Hung Nguyen town, who participated with Son and Phuc Anh in a number of robberies. The police continued to investigate and clarify other related subjects.

Property robbery crimes always have complicated developments, especially in the summer. Not only targeting taxi drivers, criminals also take advantage of deserted roads in the suburbs, using weapons to threaten victims. Therefore, people need to raise their awareness of this dangerous crime. Major Phan Ngoc Thanh - Head of the Criminal Investigation Team on Social Order, Hung Nguyen District Police also warned: Drivers transporting passengers late at night, when the passengers are men, need to raise their vigilance. When seeing passengers showing suspicious signs, they should find a way to contact the switchboard or drive straight to the nearest police station, avoid letting criminals take advantage of loopholes to rob property, protect their lives and property.

Minh Tam