Nghe An Police: Tracing criminals - solving cases

Soldiers in peacetime

Recent,Nghe An Policehas just successfully broken up a special case against a group of Vietnamese people working in Cambodia who defrauded and appropriated property of Vietnamese people in many localities across the country, with a total amount of more than 200 billion VND, arresting 32 subjects.

Talking to us about this project, the officers in the Project Board could not help but exclaim when recounting the process of tracking down criminals that seemed “more difficult than ascending to heaven”. Because they were scattered all over the country, committed crimes abroad and hid their identities using fake accounts. Many specialized professional measures were used in this battle to find out basic “parameters” about people and the frauds committed by each person. The results showed that it was a very bold and creative step by the Nghe An Criminal Police force in particular and the Vietnam Criminal Police force in general.

“The biggest difficulty for us is that the entire criminal gang is abroad, in locations that are “inaccessible to both inside and outside”, and even the authorities of the neighboring country have difficulty accessing them. Finding the answers to the above secrets is really difficult. The barrier of national sovereignty does not allow the task force to go there to verify. However, after great collective efforts, along with sharp tactics, we have in hand what we need” - Lieutenant Colonel Ha Huy Duc - Head of the Team for Prevention and Investigation of Property Crimes, Criminal Police Department, Nghe An Provincial Police recounted.

With the encouragement and close direction of the Provincial Police Department's Board of Directors and the leaders of the Criminal Police Department, the members of the project worked tirelessly day and night to gradually get answers to each content.

After many days of “hard work and suffering”, the Task Force has “deployed troops and set up battle formations” perfectly to catch a large net of 32 subjects in many provinces and cities across the country. It seems that when abroad, committing fraud of hundreds of billions of dong by impersonating the police and calling to threaten people in the country, they can remain anonymous and hide themselves, so those who work for the “devil” were completely surprised when the destination of their journey home was not their hometown, but a prison.

On the front of fighting against crime, in addition to establishing special projects to find the perpetrators, confronting many types of dangerous criminals, being ready to use weapons to threaten and fight back against the authorities, in addition to being brave and courageous, each "criminal soldier" also has the ingenuity and strategy to win over the subjects with human hearts.

At 8:00 a.m. on April 30, 2021, a horrific murder suddenly occurred at the private home of Cao Trong Phu (residing in Nghi Kim commune, Vinh city, Nghe An). At the above time, a Jeep with license plate 72M-7353 carrying 3 people arrived in front of Phu's villa gate to resolve a business conflict. Suddenly, from inside, Phu used a gun to aim at this group of people and fired bullets, causing two victims to be hit and die on the spot. After committing the crime, Phu locked the gate, hugged the gun and barricaded himself inside the house with high walls and many security cameras around.

Upon receiving the report, Nghe An Provincial Police mobilized maximum force with armored vehicles and sniffer dogs to surround, isolate and seal off the villa. Many arrest plans were proposed, but the number one priority was still the safety of the forces participating in the investigation as well as ensuring the safety of the surrounding area, so after many hours of negotiation, the subject agreed to surrender and hand over the weapon.

Present at the scene and personally negotiating with the subject, Colonel Pham Hoai Nam - Chief of Office of the Investigation Police Agency of Nghe An Province Police recounted: “I don’t remember exactly how long it took to convince Phu, but it was actually quite a long time. With my own experience in convincing many criminals, during the process of confronting Phu alone, I always tried to show comfort in each story, and made some reassuring gestures so that Phu would be really stable, not panic or be agitated and would do something reckless. Therefore, after eating and bathing, Phu agreed to go with us to the investigation agency.”

Every year, the Criminal Police force of Nghe An Public Security investigates more than 1,000 cases of all kinds, destroys more than 50 gangs, arrests and prosecutes nearly 2,000 subjects, contributing to maintaining political security and social safety of the province. With the nature of the work, having to regularly face all kinds of crimes, contact with the dark side of society, however, through training in political courage and clearly understanding the great responsibility of a People's Public Security soldier, each officer is always proactive in grasping the situation, especially in investigating and solving cases, the Criminal Police force has not been afraid of difficulties, hardships, and selfless sacrifices to excellently complete the assigned tasks. Along with the journey of hunting down evil, with their intelligence, people often call them by a very admirable name: Soldiers in peacetime.

Quiet after the victories

For a case to be solved and brought to light, ensuring the right person is found guilty, the evidence is extremely important. Murders that occur at times when there are no witnesses, the crime scene left behind are only fragile traces that few people recognize. However, in the professional eyes of these people, it is evidence of a crime. Not fighting directly against criminals, but with caution, meticulousness, accuracy, objectivity, comprehensiveness, sharp professional skills and professional heart, all crimes are brought to light. The silent footsteps of the Nghe An Police's criminal technical force have been and are leaving their mark on every locality, tirelessly contributing to the peace of Nghe An, to the happiness of the people.

Each officer working in criminal engineering not only directly solves cases but also indirectly helps solve problems, helping the investigation force investigate, clarify, and bring the perpetrator to justice. Perhaps that is why wherever a serious crime occurs, there is the presence of these officers - the criminal engineering soldiers, working side by side with the investigation agency to solve the case.

“Working in a large area with a large population and difficult traffic, especially in remote areas bordering Vietnam - Laos, but thanks to their passion for the profession, when an incident occurs, the criminal technical force quickly, urgently and promptly arrives at the scene to detect and collect evidence. From there, there is a basis for examining and evaluating the time and location of the incident, the participants, the nature and motive of the crime so that the investigation can proceed in the right direction and quickly bring results. The crime scene can sometimes be just a faint trace of dust, a scratched paint mark, a fingerprint on an object or a seemingly harmless bruise on the victim's body... However, for officers working in criminal technical appraisal, all of these are clues to the case, "speaking" evidence denouncing the crime of the perpetrator and sometimes their entire journey of committing the crime" - Lieutenant Colonel Tran Van Hai - Deputy Head of the Appraisal Team, Criminal Technical Department shared share

A victim was buried deep in the mud for 14 years, through the examination of the scene, the criminal technical force of Nghe An Police helped the investigation to find the culprit. A female body of unknown cause of death was lying on the edge of Lam River, through the examination, it was determined that the victim committed suicide. In the case of the loss of 500 million VND at the Department of Education of Con Cuong District, through the examination of the scene, the criminal technical officers of Nghe An Police discovered traces of theft and search by people inside the department, thereby helping the investigation agency to arrest Ho Van Long - an officer of the Department of Education of Con Cuong District, who was the perpetrator. Also from the appraisal work, it was determined that Nguyen Thi Lam - an officer of EXimbank Do Luong Bank forged a customer's signature to withdraw more than 50 billion VND... In particular, the massacre of 4 people in a family that occurred in Phong village, Tam Hop commune, Tuong Duong district shocked public opinion in 2015. Along with many other forces, officers and soldiers of the Criminal Technique Department traveled hundreds of kilometers to examine the scene and give directions to the investigation agency to solve the case. From the solid evidence of the criminal technique force, along with sharp professional measures, the perpetrator of the case, Vi Van Hai, was arrested and received a suitable sentence for his crime.

"After each case is solved and the culprit is found, we feel more motivated to stick with the profession. The feeling of obsession is gone, replaced by anxiety and worry about cases where the culprit has not been found yet" - Lieutenant Colonel Tran Van Hai - Deputy Head of the Forensic Team, Criminal Technique Department confided.

Working silently, contributing silently, and sacrificing are what forensic technicians are dedicating day and night. There are deaths that will remain mysterious, causing doubts to the living if not deciphered by forensic doctors. The forensic team has only that many people, but each year they have to examine 150 - 250 corpses. Obsession is probably the biggest problem that forensic officers have to face in each case, when working directly with corpses. However, when witnessing unfortunate people, deaths that leave many questions, they all try their best to speak up for the dead, denounce the crime and find the cause of the incident. Despite facing many other difficulties and hardships, especially toxicity and a very high risk of exposure when their protective equipment is still quite simple, with their professional spirit, the results of their work have contributed to clarifying criminal acts, bringing to light many murderers, justice has been served, and fairness has been restored to the families of the unfortunate victims.

Carrying on their shoulders the responsibility of “staying awake so that people can sleep well, standing guard so that people can have fun”, being the “sacred sword, protecting the Party, the State and the People”, Nghe An Police force has not been afraid of difficulties and hardships in the uncompromising fight against crime. To have a peaceful life today, thousands of police officers and soldiers have shed blood, many comrades have heroically sacrificed on the front line in peacetime. They have devoted their youth, used their intelligence, strength and even part of their bodies to fight crime. With the heroic tradition and noble deeds of a police officer, they will continue to serve the people, for a peaceful life.