After two years of living on the streets, Ngoc said that after reaching a dead end, he decided to rob a bank to get money to pay off his debt. The target was the Ngoc Khanh branch of BIDV Bank at 27 Huynh Thuc Khang, the same building where Ngoc used to live.

Three months ago, Ngoc went online to order a homemade Colt revolver that shoots sports bullets and a box of 50 bullets for 12 million VND. In June, he made a fake mine out of a milk carton, a powder box, and black tape on the outside.

Being a gaming buddy since 2018, Ngoc knew Manh was also in debt so he invited him to join the bank robbery, agreeing to split 30%.

Ngoc and Manh were recorded by security cameras walking into the bank. Photo:Provided by police.

Ngoc then agreed, admitting that he would use a gun to threaten and take money from the counter. Manh outside used a fake mine to threaten her and stuffed the money into her backpack. After finalizing the plan, Ngoc left.

At around 7am on July 27, Manh checked out of the motel and took a bus from Nguyen Chi Thanh Street to the meeting point on Thang Long Avenue to meet Ngoc. At the bus stop in Ngoc Liep Commune, Quoc Oai District, Ngoc drove a black motorbike to take Manh to change clothes before committing the crime.

"Disguised" with a sun-protective shirt, mask, hat, and sunglasses, Manh boarded bus number 107 from Thang Long Avenue, heading towards the city center. Ngoc parked her motorbike and boarded the same bus, but at the waiting stop ahead.

At 9:54 a.m. the same day, the two got off the bus at 99 Nguyen Chi Thanh and walked into the BIDV Ngoc Khanh branch at 27 Huynh Thuc Khang. As soon as they rushed through the bank door, Ngoc shouted "robbery". Manh grabbed a black plastic bag and threw it on the floor, saying loudly "here's explosives, if you shout I'll blow it up".

At that time, the BIDV transaction office had 10 bank employees and a police officer from K02 of the Ministry of Public Security assigned to guard it. Seeing the police approaching, Ngoc fired a warning shot into the air towards the ceiling to intimidate them. At the same time, Manh threatened to detonate the plastic bag.

Ngoc held a gun and walked along the counters, grabbing money and throwing it out for Manh to put in his backpack. While taking the money, Ngoc also pointed the gun at the head of the transaction office and threatened: "If you press the alarm, I will shoot."

Having collected 942 million VND, the two men ran to Nguyen Hong Street and used a gun to threaten and rob a motorbike of a citizen waiting to withdraw money at the ATM on the left side of the bank.

The gun used in the crime. Photo:Pham Du.

Ngoc then drove Manh in the direction of Nguyen Hong - Truc Khe - Nguyen Chi Thanh - Tran Duy Hung and out to Thang Long Avenue. Arriving in front of house number 100 Truc Khe, Ngoc saw many people chasing behind, so she took out a stack of 100,000 VND bills and scattered them on the street, with the intention of making people stop and pick up the money, not chasing after them. A total of 52 bills.

The two escaped to the place where they met in the morning and changed back into their old clothes. There, Ngoc gave Manh 50 million VND in advance so he could take the bus to the motel on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street. Ngoc then rode her motorbike to the motel.

Arriving at the motel first, Ngoc counted and found that he had robbed more than 900 million VND, so when Manh arrived, he gave him an additional 200 million VND. When they parted, Ngoc took a bus to escape back to his hometown in Hai Phong, while Manh took the money back to his home on Truc Khe street.

At 0:00 on July 29, Manh was arrested at home and more than 4 hours later Ngoc was caught while hiding on Lach Tray street, Hai Phong.

Police announced that they had seized all the evidence used in the crime but have not yet announced the amount of money recovered.