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 operate in mountainous, 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, but they are also 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 they opened the barn to feed the buffaloes, the family was 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 family's bull worth about 25 million VND.

The most heartbreaking case is probably that 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” and took great care of the cow. Neighbors said that she fed the cow every two hours. However, after only two months of raising the cow, thieves took advantage of the fact that she had not built a barn yet and tied the cow outside.

Determined not to let the thieves continue to run rampant, 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 to discuss and establish a special project and established a special project team with code name 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 got involved. However, during the investigation and evidence collection process, 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 vehicles to prevent the subjects from transporting buffaloes and cows out. However, this plan has not been effective, during this time no buffaloes and cows have been stolen out, but reports of stolen buffaloes and cows continue to be sent. Considering that it is very possible that after stealing buffaloes and cows, the subjects may slaughter them on the spot and then sell the meat, in early October 2011, the task force held a meeting and concluded that the thieves are most likely those who trade and slaughter buffaloes and cows in the district. The task force has set up a number of suspects who trade buffaloes and cows and also 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 also slaughters them. There was a strange thing that every time Tung came to see a buffalo or cow for someone to buy, he did not buy it and after a few weeks, that cow 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 buffalo or cow thieves that had occurred in the district in the past.

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



Police evidence seized 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 living in Tan Hoa hamlet, at around 2:00 a.m. Immediately after discovering the incident, the family reported it directly to the district police via phone. Immediately, the emergency task force met and set out to arrest the suspect. According to information from the public, that night, 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. They were indeed 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 task force 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 Department 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 the 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 police 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 types, causing damage of more than 400 million VND. After stealing any animal, they took it to Tung's basement to slaughter it that night and bring it to restaurants and sell 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