The fight against wanted criminals in the upper Lam River

(Baonghean) - Ky Son - a mountainous border district has long been an ideal operating area for drug criminals and fugitives. The fight against this type of crime is taking place extremely fiercely.

Wait until after Tet to decide

Ky Son district has nearly 200km of land and river border with Laos. The terrain is rugged, more than 97% of the population are ethnic minorities, so legal awareness is limited, leading to the consequence that law violations are still common.

Captain Kha Van Hien - Head of the General Investigation Team - Ky Son District Police said that due to the specific nature of the area, fugitives often choose Ky Son to hide, or as a stepping stone to live in Laos.

Every time there is a holiday, Tet or when relatives have big events such as funerals or weddings, fugitives often return home, so the police determine that this is a favorable time to ambush and arrest. However, it also depends on each case and circumstance to determine whether to arrest immediately or wait for a favorable opportunity to proceed, because in many localities, customs and practices still exist, and it is necessary to respect the beliefs of the people.

Ky Son District Police deploy a plan to arrest a wanted fugitive in the area. Photo: Ha Thu

In January 2017, Ky Son District Police arrested Lu Van Kham (born in 1988), residing in Chieu Luu Commune, when he returned home from Cambodia for Tet. Previously, in September 2013, Kham and 8 other subjects used the trick of recruiting people to work for high salaries, deceiving many victims and then selling them to China. Knowing that he was being pursued by the police, Kham fled and was issued a special wanted notice.

Captain Tran The Nghia - Deputy Head of the Police Investigation Team on Drugs - Economy - Environment, Ky Son District Police said that before that, the detectives had gone to the communal house many times to persuade and persuade Kham's parents to call on him to surrender to enjoy the leniency of the law. However, the family refused, citing the reason that there were only two brothers in the family, and Kham's older brother was serving a prison sentence.

Even when Kham was discovered in the area, the detectives approached him to persuade him to surrender. At this time, Kham's brother had completed his prison term, but Kham wanted to celebrate Tet with his family and then comply, so once again the detectives were forced to create conditions.

During the Tet holidays, the Ky Son District Police sent scouts to stay in Luu Tien village, celebrating Tet with the locals to perform the task of monitoring and staying, not giving Kham any more chances to escape. Not stopping there, on the day of arrest and taking the subject to the police station, the family slaughtered a pig to "make a blessing" according to local customs, the scouts were also forced by the village elder to bring a chicken to "ask for a blessing", then agreed to the arrest.

Face the danger

Flipping through the thick files of wanted fugitives on the table, Lieutenant Colonel Mua Ba Khua - Deputy Head of the General Investigation Team of Ky Son District Police said that many fugitives, especially those who committed drug-related crimes, often carried firearms for self-defense and fought back fiercely when arrested.

Lieutenant Colonel Khua still has not recovered from his “shudders” when recalling the arrest of Vi Van Chien (born in 1978), residing in Cu village, Chieu Luu commune. Chien was wanted for illegal drug trafficking and had been hiding for 7 years in Laos. This subject always carried an AK gun with him for self-defense, built a camp and lived in hiding in the deep forest, so the process of approaching him encountered many difficulties. After a while, seeing that there was no news, Chien returned from Laos to Vietnam. Although he lived in hiding, he was very vigilant and always carried a gun with him.

One day in late 2009, when Chien was riding his motorbike on the road from Cu village to Ba village, in Chieu Luu commune. The detectives followed him, and when they reached a favorable section of the road, they proactively caused a traffic accident to arrest him, confiscating an AK gun with a loaded bullet inside.

Drug lord Vi Van May was arrested carrying two arrest warrants and a cache of hot weapons. Photo: Ha Thu

The process of arresting Lu Van Dung (born in 1980), residing in Khe Tang village, Chieu Luu commune, was also extremely difficult and arduous. Dung is a notorious drug dealer. After being arrested, he fled, so the police issued a special wanted notice. After a period of tracking him, the detectives discovered his hiding place, which was a camp deep in the forest, in Khe Tang village, Chieu Luu commune. Notably, Dung always carried a grenade with him for self-defense and spent money to hire a bodyguard to keep watch.

Despite approaching many times, the scouts were still unable to get close enough to arrest him. After many days of ambush, at 12 midnight on a day in late December 2016, the scouts quietly approached the camp and made a surprise attack, leaving the security team unable to react. When arrested, the subject fought back fiercely, even throwing a grenade at the law enforcement officers, but the scouts had anticipated every situation, successfully neutralized it, and safely arrested the subject to bring him to justice.

Major Lo Van Thao - Deputy Head of Ky Son District Police said that to detect and arrest this type of crime effectively, in addition to sticking to the locality and the base, relying on prestigious people in the locality and doing advocacy work to the family level are the most effective solutions. However, it is not excluded that there are some big shots, "bosses" who are forced to use sharp professional measures to be effective.

Ha Thu