Nghe An police and the journey to solve the case of 'running' away war invalids, more than 1,000 people fell into the trap

Hunt for the ringleader

In February 2016, Nghe An Provincial Police received a referral from the Criminal Investigation Agency (Military Region 4) about the accusation that Ms. Ta Thi Van and her husband (born in 1962, residing in Hung Binh Ward, Vinh City) had appropriated property in receiving documents to "run" for war invalids and Agent Orange. The amount of money that people accused the couple of appropriating was more than 4 billion VND.

Complaint against fake war invalids 'running' ring sent to authorities Photo: PV

During the investigation, the Office of the Criminal Police Department PC 44 of Nghe An Province Police determined that this was a large-scale inter-provincial war invalid trafficking ring that had lasted for many years, so they focused their forces on solving the case. After a long period of collecting evidence, on August 15, 2016, PC 44 decided to prosecute the case and prosecute Ta Thi Van for fraud and property appropriation. Ms. Van was accused of leading this war invalid trafficking ring. However, at this time, Van and her "right-hand man" Ho Thanh Tung had already "run away".

Photo identification of wanted suspect Ta Thi Van - Photo: PV

According to investigator Phan Thanh Hai, after being continuously pressured by the “henchmen” and victims in the ring to demand money, Tung quietly left the area at the end of 2014. In August 2015, Van also agreed to divorce her husband, then quickly disposed of the assets and fled the area. Ten days after the prosecution, Nghe An police issued a nationwide wanted notice for Ta Thi Van. Nearly two months later, on October 20, 2016, Van was arrested by detectives while hiding in Hanoi.

“During the two months of searching, the detectives encountered many difficulties,” Captain Phan Thanh Hai said. Knowing that she was wanted, Van not only frequently changed her contact phone number, but also did not use a landline phone. In addition, after escaping, this woman did not seek out relatives and family members but rented a motel room herself, constantly changing her residence from Quang Ninh to Hanoi. Meanwhile, according to Captain Hai, Van’s family refused to cooperate with the investigation agency despite investigators repeatedly urging her to surrender and provide information.

Put away the net

After arresting Ta Thi Van, based on the leader's testimony, PC 44 continued to prosecute and issue a wanted notice for Ho Thanh Tung. "At this time, there is very little information about Tung because both he and his wife have been on the run since the end of 2014. The remaining relatives are also not very cooperative," Captain Hai said, adding that he could not remember how many times he had to "go North and South" to hunt down the two leaders of this war invalid "running" ring.

Wanted warrant for Ho Thanh Tung Photo: PV

Ho Thanh Tung used to be the warehouse keeper of Dai Dong Food Store (Thanh Chuong District, Nghe An). In 1995, he was prosecuted for embezzlement. After months of searching in the southern provinces but still not finding any trace, while the police force also had no information, a plan to arrest him was drawn up by investigators of PC 44. “Mr. Tung was a war invalid, receiving monthly benefits. By mid-2017, we learned that his allowance was still being paid regularly. The recipient was Mr. Tung’s younger brother,” Captain Phan Thanh Hai said.

At this time, the investigation agency requested the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Hung Nguyen district (Nghe An) to temporarily stop paying benefits to Ho Thanh Tung. "At that time, we determined that after a period of not receiving benefits through his younger brother, Mr. Tung would return to his hometown to receive the money himself. In addition, his parents are very old and often sick, so the possibility of him secretly returning to his hometown is very high," the investigator said, adding that to carry out this plan, many secret agents were planted.

Ho Thanh Tung at the investigation agency Photo: PV

As the investigators predicted, in mid-March 2018, Ho Thanh Tung secretly returned to his hometown. However, he was arrested on his way to receive the policy allowance for people with meritorious services. At the police station, Mr. Tung confessed that during his time in hiding, he worked for hire in Vung Tau and constantly changed locations. To avoid being arrested, he also rarely contacted his relatives and did not seek shelter at relatives' houses. But in the end, with the intelligence of the detectives, Ho Thanh Tung fell into the net of the law.

Currently, the case is being expanded, the investigation agency informs anyone who is a victim in this war invalid trafficking ring to contact the address of the Investigation Police Office (PC 44, Nghe An Provincial Police), Lenin Avenue - Nghi Phu Commune - Vinh City - Nghe An. Or contact the phone number 0932.345.256 to meet Captain Phan Thanh Hai - investigator of the case.

Nghe An: Arresting the 'boss' of the inter-provincial war invalid trafficking ring

(Baonghean.vn) - The 60-year-old man was identified as the last "gangster" in the war invalid trafficking ring with more than 1,000 victims led by Ta Thi Van. After a period of being on the run, he fell into the net of the law.