Project 123G - Quickly destroy car mirror theft ring

(Baonghean) - During the peak period of fighting crime and protecting security and order before, during and after the 2014 Lunar New Year, Nghe An Police achieved many feats; in which, Project 123G of Vinh City Police was considered typical.

In September 2013, Vinh City Police received a report of stolen mirrors from the owners of luxury cars. Ms. Le Thi QT (born in 1992), residing in Hamlet 3, Nghi Phu Commune, teacher Tran TK, residing in Hamlet 20, Nghi Phu Commune, Mr. Vo D.D... were the people who filed the report. According to the report, the time the mirrors were stolen was during lunch break, or at dusk. The thefts of the subjects happened very quickly, within just five minutes. Some people even stopped their cars at an ATM to withdraw money, when they came out, the mirrors had disappeared. Some victims also informed: it is likely that the subjects who stole the car mirrors were two young men riding a Wave Alpha, one of whom was tall and thin...

Luxury cars such as Range Rover, Mercedec, Lexus, Porsche,... are always the target of thieves. Illustration photo.

Recognizing that this was a new type of crime and that it was likely that the criminals had infiltrated the area from outside and needed to be quickly eradicated, Vinh City Police established Project 123G, directly led by Colonel Ho Xuan Hoa - Chief of Vinh City Police. The assigned officers and soldiers secretly spread out throughout the area, checking motels and hotels, and lying in wait at places where thefts often occurred, even placing surveillance cameras. After nearly a month of persistently following key areas, the officers and soldiers of the project identified a group of 5 suspicious individuals staying near the gas station in Quan Bau ward.

Continuing to monitor, on November 30, 2013, the detectives received information that the group of subjects had moved to a boarding house in Hamlet 10, Nghi Phu Commune. Determining that this was a good opportunity to approach the subjects, the task force quickly outlined a specific plan. It only took a short time for the detectives to approach and talk to the subjects, and identified them as Ho Tien Bao (born in 1992), residing in Tan Phu Ward, Hoa Hieu Ward, Thai Hoa Town; Nguyen Van Hung (born in 1992), residing in Tan Long Ward, Long Son Ward, Thai Hoa Town; Hoang Ngoc Nam (born in 1992), Dong Tien Ward, Hoa Hieu Ward, Thai Hoa Town; Chu Ngoc Hung (born in 1992), residing in Tan Long Ward, Long Son Ward, Thai Hoa Town; Bui Duc Thang (born in 1992), residing in Hamlet 6, Hoi Son Commune, Anh Son District. In which, Ho Tien Bao is the leader, Nguyen Van Hung is the tall and thin person that people informed about before.

At around 6pm on December 2, 2013, the task force followed Ho Tien Bao and Nguyen Van Hung and discovered them stealing car mirrors. Their mirror-stealing operation was very simple: with one hand they pressed the car mirror down to expose the mirror base, then they took out the entire mirror and the mirror base. Because Bao and Hung's actions were so fast, the soldiers decided not to catch them red-handed but to catch them when they had evidence on them and at the place where the evidence was hidden. When they returned to their rented room, the soldiers quickly raided and, in addition to arresting Ho Tien Bao and Nguyen Van Hung, they also arrested two other subjects, Hoang Ngoc Nam and Bui Duc Thang, who had just returned from "stealing goods". The seized evidence included 9 car mirrors of various types worth about 130 million VND. When they were arrested, the subjects knew their whereabouts had been exposed, so they did not resist and quickly confessed.

Through investigation, the subjects confessed that they only stole mirrors from expensive cars, and only stole mirrors from Camry, CRV, etc. After each theft, they hid them in their rented rooms, collected about 20-30 pieces, and then took them to Hanoi to sell. Ho Tien Bao confessed that he was the leader of the group of thieves; the subjects that Bao connected with to sell the goods were Tuong Cong Tin (born in 1983), residing in Vo Thai village, Dung Nghia commune, Vu Thu district, Thai Binh province, and Nguyen Tien Dung (born in 1966), registered at 14H4, Nguyen Cong Tru residential area, Pho Hue ward, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi city. When they collected enough goods to bring to Hanoi, Bao called Tin. Tin would give Bao a meeting point to deliver the goods, where Tin would come to pick up the goods, take them to Dung, collect the money, and bring them back to Bao. Each time, Bao paid Tin from 500,000 to 1 million VND.

Immediately after receiving the information, Vinh City Police issued an emergency arrest warrant for Tuong Cong Tin, Nguyen Tien Dung and the remaining thief of Ho Tien Bao's group, Chu Ngoc Hung. After arresting the subjects, officers and soldiers of Vinh City Police coordinated with Hanoi City Police and Pho Hue Ward Police (Hanoi) to search Nguyen Tien Dung's residence and business location. At these locations, 144 luxury car mirrors and mirror clusters of various types with a total value of over 1 billion VND were seized.

Vinh City Police investigator, Major Nguyen Dinh Dung, added that Ho Tien Bao's brother in Hanoi had previously been friends with Tuong Cong Tin - a car mirror thief. When Bao went to the capital to visit, he met and was trained by Tin in his profession, and promised that if he had "goods", he would be the middleman to sell them. Around mid-2013, Bao went to Vinh City to visit his friend Chu Ngoc Hung, who was working for an auto repair shop, then met and got to know Bui Duc Thang, who was working for a coffee shop. Bao "taught them the trade" and invited Nguyen Van Hung and Hoang Ngoc Nam to join the group, and since September 2013, their group has become a nightmare for supercar owners. Their "business" work was outlined in specific and secretive steps, from the "buying" stage to the "selling" stage, and when they thought everything was going "smoothly", they unexpectedly fell into the sights of Vinh City Police officers and fell into a trap...

Talking about Project 123G, Lieutenant Colonel Le Khac Thuyet - Chief of the Provincial Police Office said: The Provincial Police leaders highly appreciate the achievements of the officers and soldiers of Vinh City Police, this achievement has contributed to ensuring social security and order and increasing the trust of the people. After solving the case, the incident of stolen car mirrors has decreased significantly...

Nhat Lan