Four suspects who specialize in stealing cinnamon bark from the forest in a mountainous district of Nghe An have been arrested.

On the morning of December 30, Lieutenant Colonel Cao Thanh Hai - Head of Que Phong District Police said that the unit had just arrested 4 young men to clarify the act of property theft. These 4 suspects were accused of causing the cinnamon thefts that occurred in Muong Noc Commune recently, as reported by Nghe An Newspaper.

"Initially, the suspects have confessed to their actions. We are leading the suspects into the forest to reenact the crime scene," said Lieutenant Colonel Hai.

All four suspects are heavy drug addicts. Initially, they confessed to going into the forest to steal cinnamon bark to sell to get money to buy drugs. Currently, Que Phong District Police have not announced the specific names of the arrested suspects, only saying that two of them live in Muong Noc Commune, one lives in Kim Son Town and the remaining one lives in Tien Phong Commune.

A household had 30 cinnamon trees stolen and had to cut them down to sell for timber. Photo: Tien Hung

Previously, on December 25, Nghe An Newspaper published an article reflecting the alarming situation of cinnamon theft in Que Phong district, especially in Muong Noc commune, Kim Son town. In Muong Noc commune, 73 cinnamon trees were stolen in just one session. According to local people, this situation happens almost every year, especially when cinnamon prices have increased in recent years. Some households lose hundreds of cinnamon trees each year. "Many trees have been cared for for more than 20 years, but before they could be harvested, they were stolen. It's very painful," said Mr. Thai Dinh Trien (77 years old), one of the households that regularly have their cinnamon stolen in Muong Noc commune.

Mr. Duong Hoang Vu - Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee said that immediately after receiving the information from Nghe An Newspaper reporter, he directed Que Phong District Police to urgently investigate and clarify the theft cases. Only a few days later, the suspects were arrested. "For a long time, because people did not report, the authorities did not have any information," said the Chairman of Que Phong District People's Committee./.