Tan Ky Police: Breaking up a cattle theft ring

(Baonghean) -From the time before Tet 2010 until now, there have been nearly 20 cases of theft of more than 20 buffaloes and cows from households in Tan Ky district, causing property damage of over 400 million VND. This is the largest buffalo theft ring ever caught in the province.

Since February 2011 (on the occasion of the Lunar New Year), there have been many cases of cattle theft in Tan Ky district. Thieves often target households that do not have stables, and their areas of operation are mountainous and deserted areas to make it easier to escape if there is an incident. Therefore, the most victims are poor households that receive state support for cattle for production, and they have also had their cattle stolen. According to statistics from Tan Ky district police, many cattle have been mysteriously lost.

A typical example is the theft of a pair of buffaloes worth about 35 million VND belonging to Hoang Minh Binh, residing in Tan Lap hamlet, Tan Long commune on July 13, 2011. Taking advantage of a loophole, the thief broke into the barn and stole the pair of buffaloes, the biggest asset of Mr. Binh's family. The next morning, when the family opened the barn to feed the buffaloes, they were shocked to see that there was only an empty barn left. The incident was reported to the authorities and police of Tan Long commune. Also in Tan Long commune, Mr. Phan Van Cuong's family also lost a pair of mother and baby buffaloes.

Then in hamlet 8, Nghia Phuc, taking advantage of the storm, thieves broke in and stole a bull from a family worth about 25 million VND.

The most heartbreaking is probably the household of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ve, residing in Tan Mai hamlet, Nghia Hoan commune. Mrs. Ve is single and is the poorest person in the village. In April 2011, the government supported her with a cow worth 6 million VND. She considered this a "treasure" so she took good care of the cow. Neighbors said that she fed the cow every two hours. However, after only two months of raising it, thieves took advantage of the fact that she had not built a barn yet and tied the cow outside, and stole her cow.

Determined not to let the thieves continue to run amok, the Tan Ky District Police force was determined to take action to destroy this cattle theft ring. On August 10, 2011, the District Police Chief held a meeting, established a special project and established a special project team codenamed 811T headed by Lieutenant Colonel Phan Huu Chu, Deputy District Police Chief, to focus on fighting and clarifying the case.

Determined to solve the case to bring peace to the villagers and avoid panic, the task force of 8 comrades in the Tan Ky District Police Investigation Team quickly took action. However, during the investigation and collection of evidence, the task force encountered many difficulties. The area of ​​operation of the thieves is often in mountainous areas, and the time of loss is often not clearly determined. The thieves' modus operandi is extremely sophisticated and cunning, they break in and steal without leaving any traces or noise.

After many meetings, the task force has proposed many plans to combat this type of crime, including blocking the entrances and exits of the district, checking motor vehicles to prevent the subjects from dispersing buffaloes and cows out. However, this plan is still ineffective, during this time no buffaloes and cows were stolen out but reports of buffalo and cow theft continued to be sent. It was determined that the subjects after stealing buffaloes and cows could slaughter them on the spot and then sell the meat, so in early October 2011, the task force held a meeting and concluded that the thieves were most likely those who traded and slaughtered buffaloes and cows in the district. The task force has set up a number of suspects who trade buffaloes and cows and slaughter them in the area. Among them is Tran Van Tung (born in 1974), residing in Tan Mai hamlet, Nghia Hoan commune. This subject trades buffaloes and cows and slaughters them. There was a strange thing that every time Tung came to see a cow or buffalo for someone to buy, he did not buy it and after a few weeks the cow or buffalo would be lost. From here, the police officers in the task force coordinated with the commune police to closely follow the suspects, their every move was closely monitored. After more than a month of monitoring the movements and closely following the suspects, the task force identified the cow or buffalo thieves that had occurred in the district in the past time.

The subjects in the buffalo and cow theft ring were arrested and are being detained at Tan Ky district police station.



Evidence seized by police in the case.

Caught in the net

On November 16, 2011, in Nghia Phuc commune, a pair of buffaloes worth about 40 million VND was stolen from Mr. Nguyen Thien Quy's family residing in Tan Hoa hamlet, at around 2:00 a.m. Immediately after discovering the incident, the family reported it to the district police by phone. Immediately, the emergency task force met and set out to capture the suspect. According to information from the public, that evening, a resident saw Tran Van Tung leading a pair of buffaloes. When asked, he said he bought them.

Through investigation and verification, the police collected many important pieces of evidence to prove Tran Van Tung's crime. After being invited to the police station to verify the incident, this guy denied the crime. Indeed, they were very sophisticated. When they saw the disturbance, Tung brought a buffalo home. When the police came to verify, he said that the buffalo he bought that day had already been butchered by a young girl. When the police asked him where he bought it, Tung said he bought it from Mr. Hung in Tien Ky commune, a mountainous commune with a very difficult road to get to.

Undaunted, the police officers of Tan Ky district decided to take Tung to Tien Ky commune to verify whether he had really bought the buffalo there. After verification, no one in Tien Ky commune had sold the pair of buffaloes at that time, but Tung still did not bow his head and admit his guilt. This time he said he bought it in Tho Son commune, Anh Son district. The officers continued to fight with this stubborn subject. Finally, the investigation team came up with a plan to release the buffalo that Tung said he had bought to see which way it would go.

Unexpectedly, this buffalo went straight to the barn of Le Van Thang (born in 1979), residing in Tan Thang hamlet, Tan Long commune. This guy also worked as a butcher with Tung and was listed as a suspect in the buffalo theft ring in the district. Faced with undeniable evidence, the subject bowed his head and admitted his guilt.

On November 25, after 9 days of fighting, when there was sufficient evidence, the Tan Ky District Police Investigation Agency issued an order to prosecute and temporarily detain two subjects Tran Van Tung and Le Van Thang on charges of property theft.

Expanding the investigation, on November 26, the district police continued to urgently arrest Hoang Nhu An (born in 1967), residing in hamlet 12, Tan Huong commune. On November 28, two more subjects were arrested: Ta Quang Khan (born in 1964), from the same hamlet as An, and Hoang The My (born in 1963), residing in Thanh Phong hamlet, Nghia Hoan commune. My also worked as a cattle butcher. All subjects were detained and prosecuted for theft. Among the subjects, Ta Quang Khan had been in prison for many years for theft. He had just been released from prison in March 2011 when he joined this group.

Through searching the suspects' homes, the police force seized some remaining buffalo horns and ropes to tie buffaloes, and tools for slaughtering cattle. In particular, at Tung's house in Nghia Hoan commune, the police discovered an underground butchery pit. He confessed that after stealing any animal, he would take it there so no one would know. Even Mrs. Nguyen Thi Ve's cow was butchered by Tung, even though Tung's house and Mrs. Ve's house were more than a few hundred meters apart.

After summoning the subjects, the investigation agency took statements, and initially the subjects admitted their crimes. They confessed that from the time before Tet 2010 until now, they have committed nearly 20 thefts, stealing more than 20 buffaloes and cows of various kinds, causing a loss of more than 400 million VND. After stealing any animal, they took it to Tung's cellar to slaughter it that night and bring it to restaurants and sell it at the market.

Talking to us, Lieutenant Colonel Phan Huu Chu said that Tan Ky district police are continuing to expand the investigation to complete the case and soon bring these subjects to trial.

Pham Hoa