The captain of the anti-robbery squad is a fast driver and a skilled marksman.

The Special Forces Command (SBC) was a captivating image for young people in Ho Chi Minh City at that time, and the nemesis of criminals, as rumors circulated that SBCs drove at unlimited speeds, were incredibly accurate marksmen, and possessed exceptional martial arts skills.

That is also the image of Vo Tan Thanh, Hai Thanh, a street legend…

After 1975, criminal investigation was essentially an armed conflict between criminal investigators and gangs involved in murder, robbery, kidnapping, etc. Just look at the operational regulations of the Special Crime Suppression Unit (SBC) to see how intense the situation was in the early days after liberation in 1975:

The SBC team apprehends criminals.

"SBCs (Special Criminals) must be no older than 30 years old, are permitted to drive at maximum speed, enter restricted areas, run red lights, drive against traffic, and, if they encounter a wanted criminal and refuse to surrender, are allowed to fire at the suspect after firing two warning shots."

Yes, because the gangs always fire first, the lives of the SBC scouts are always hanging by a thread; whoever shoots faster will survive.

But Hai Thanh always advocated for safe control, limiting the use of firearms, and he nearly died doing so when he confronted the bandit leader Sau Cau Bong Phan Ba ​​Y (who killed the notorious gangster Son Dao before 1975), who also shot at officers while being pursued.

However, despite having narrowly escaped death many times, Hai Thanh remained steadfast in his method.

When he was alive, Mr. Huynh Ba Thanh (Editor-in-Chief of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Newspaper) greatly admired Hai Thanh, but lamented that he couldn't get much information from him because Hai Thanh was very secretive.

More than just a street legend, Hai Thanh is also a great inspiration for literature and film… just look at the list of cases Hai Thanh solved: the kidnapping of artist Kim Cuong's child, the kidnapping of Doctor La Hi's child, the Thanh Nga case, Tin Ma Nam, Dien Khac Kim, the White Rose case…

These are cases that have become classics in the history of the police force.

SBC team captain Vo Tan Thanh.

The SBC was established under the direct guidance of experienced police officers in internal, external, and armed operations, such as General Mai Chi Tho, Major General Trinh Thanh Thiep, Lieutenant Colonel Phan Thanh (Ba Tung), and their student and comrade Hai Thanh, who studied and developed it into new criminal perspectives such as propaganda and mobilization work, grassroots network work, and mass movements to protect national security…

The C500 People's Security Academy website dedicates an entire page to the police officer who is considered an idol within the police force.

"Comrade Thanh, affectionately known as Captain Hai Thanh, was born in 1936 in Loc Thuan commune, Binh Dai district (Ben Tre province)."

Having endured a difficult childhood, working as a hired hand tending buffalo and ducks, and doing odd jobs, Hai Thanh threw a grenade at a French enemy ship on the Cua Dai River in Ben Tre at the age of 11. At 14, he joined the guerrilla forces.

In 1954, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the 307th Battalion. That October, he boarded a ship to relocate to the North. After six years of training and development in the army, in 1960, he joined the Party and entered the Central Police School C500 (now the People's Security Academy), officially becoming a police officer.

After completing an intensive intelligence training course, in early 1975, he served as deputy head of a special task force of one hundred officers and soldiers sent to the South.

Two days after Saigon was liberated, he was appointed the first Team Leader of the Criminal Police Department's Law Enforcement Team and the Party Secretary of the department. When the Anti-Robbery Team was established, he was also appointed as its leader.

He and his teammates achieved many outstanding accomplishments. These included solving sensational cases that shocked public opinion both domestically and internationally, such as the kidnapping of the child of artist Kim Cương, the Thanh Nga case, and the kidnapping of the child of doctor Lã Hỷ; investigating the massacre at Princess Mộng Hoa's house; rescuing 11 children kidnapped and sold to the mountainous region of Lâm Đồng; dismantling armed robbery gangs such as the Võ Tùng Hội gang, Phú “Salem” gang, Thái Lập Thành gang, and the White Rose gang; and apprehending notorious robbers like Điềm Khắc Kim and Tín Mã Nàm (in the Mã Ngưu case)...

Vo Tan Thanh rescued a kidnapped girl.

Particularly noteworthy was the case of Nguyen Huu Dat, who raped and murdered nine beautiful girls (eight before liberation and three after liberation) and then burned their bodies to conceal the crime. When the perpetrator killed the third girl in early March 1976, Captain Hai Thanh and his colleagues overcame many hardships to find this depraved murderer. During these "raiding the tiger's den," he was beaten severely by the criminals, but he never revealed that he was a police officer.

He resolutely punished the stubborn, but always offered a path to redemption for those who repented. His magnanimity and tolerance have reformed many dangerous criminals, gangsters, and prostitutes.

I was fortunate enough to meet and have tea with Mr. Hai Thanh many times when he became the chief judge of the Tan Binh District People's Court. He always spoke of the SBC team with great affection and faith in the next generation of his comrades.

In fact, as the first captain of the SBC (Anti-Crime Squad), Hai Thanh trained outstanding criminal investigators for the police force…

In the 1990s, Huynh Ba Thanh asked me and writer Dam San to write a novel about the street legend Vo Tan Thanh. He politely refused and later met with me privately, saying, "There are many things that cannot be revealed yet." He always showed that he didn't care about fame or fortune. He was willing to dedicate himself to the revolution in any position he held.

Mr. Hai Thanh passed away at his home in 2014 after retiring. If he knew today that SBC would be re-established, he would surely be very happy.

Hoang Linh

According to zing.vn