3-year journey of ambushing the 'lone wolf' who always carried a gun when committing crimes

Long Bien District Police's criminal investigators called "super" robber Tran Que Lam a "lone wolf" and it took nearly 3 years of persistent hunting to capture him.

In the records of robbery cases that Hanoi City Police have investigated in recent years, perhaps Tran Que Lam (born 1970 - registered residence in Nga Tu So ward, Dong Da, Hanoi, temporarily residing in a luxury apartment building in Nhan Chinh ward, Thanh Xuan), possesses the most "best" qualities: He is the oldest, committed the crime for the longest time and earned the most illegal money.

The motorbike with fake license plate was used by Lam to commit the crime.

Act quickly, pull out gun to "threaten" security guard

Due to the locality's many routes leading to highways and national highways, and the fact that it borders several suburban districts, Long Bien district is often taken advantage of by robbers to commit crimes.

The commander of Long Bien District Police said that among the criminal cases that occurred in the area, robbery often accounted for a fairly high percentage. Among them, the case that took the most time and effort of the Long Bien District Police and the police of 14 wards in the area was the case of Tran Que Lam, the subject being prosecuted and detained for 4 months to investigate 3 crimes: resisting people on duty, illegal possession of military weapons and robbery.

“With the successful arrest of Tran Que Lam, we consider it as paying off a big debt to the people and ourselves. In addition, there are some good conclusions drawn for the fight against and prevention of robbery crimes,” said Lieutenant Colonel To Anh Dung, Deputy Chief of Long Bien District Police.

Traces of Tran Que Lam's crimes were discovered around the end of 2014. "The subject was tall and large, rode a Wave motorbike, wore a helmet that covered his head and had two rearview mirrors." These characteristics were established by criminal investigators from the brutal robberies that occurred in the area, through reports from the victims.

At about 10:40 a.m. on October 27, 2014, Ms. Tran Le Ngoan (living in Long Bien district) sat on the back of a motorbike driven by her son to Viet Hung urban area. Before that, Ms. Ngoan went to the bank to transfer money, so when she left, she was careless, carrying a handbag containing about 10 million VND on her shoulder.

This "target" was too vulnerable and was discovered by the bad guys, who followed her all the way from Sai Dong street to Viet Hung urban area. When reaching the turn from Viet Hung urban area to Ngo Gia Tu street, right when the motorbike turned sideways, there was a sound of the engine revving right next to her. The bag flew off Mrs. Ngoan's shoulder, and she and her son fell onto the street, having to be taken to the hospital in a state of serious injury.

Subject Tran Que Lam.

The person who snatched Ms. Ngoan's handbag had similar characteristics to the perpetrator who targeted Ms. Le Phuong Anh (also residing in Long Bien district), nearly a year later. Sitting on the back of a motorbike moving on a deserted road in Phuc Loi ward, Long Bien district, Ms. Phuong Anh had her handbag snatched by a person riding a motorbike wearing a full helmet, inside were an iPad, a mobile phone and 4 million VND.

The young girl’s shout of “robbery” alerted the security guard near the scene. Witnessing the robber speeding away, the security guard informed the guard below via walkie-talkie to set up an iron fence to block the way. However, this well-planned plan failed to stop the perpetrator. The two security guards had to create an opening for the robber to escape, because the black gun was pointed straight at them.

The “debt” is getting heavier for the Long Bien District Police Criminal Investigation Department as the list of robberies continues to grow. In the early afternoon of March 20, 2017, on Van Hanh Street, Duc Giang Ward, a Chinese man, while being transported by a female interpreter on a motorbike, had his designer handbag snatched in a split second. Inside the bag were many personal documents, ATM cards and nearly 300 million VND.

"Expert" in robbery under the guise of a gentle person

“Tran Que Lam was arrested because of his own careful calculations,” the investigator assigned to establish and solve the case recalled. Up until now, the subject has confessed “drop by drop” that he committed about 12 robberies, from mid-2014, until his arrest, August 2017. The amount of money and illegal assets obtained, according to the “super” robber’s confession, amounted to over half a billion VND.

Compared to the gangs and robbers who were arrested by Long Bien District Police, it must be admitted that Tran Que Lam is a "master". First of all, because he had 2 previous convictions for robbery, with the first being in 1999; not to mention a number of previous convictions for all kinds of acts.

That “experience” made Tran Que Lam know how to create a gentle cover, but extremely cunning. Dozens of robberies spread out over 3 years, is not too many. Lam only takes action every 2, 3 weeks.

The gun and bullets confiscated by the police from Lam.

In addition to committing crimes alone, he often chooses national highways or deserted areas leading to major roads and expressways. Sometimes he wanders around like roasting peanuts, sometimes he stands in one place to spy and often targets people carrying handbags. One person, two people riding together, even men, he is ready to act. It is because of this close monitoring of his "prey" that Tran Que Lam always makes a fortune, from a few million, to tens of millions and even hundreds of millions of dong. When he spends it all, he comes back to commit crimes.

However, no matter how carefully the subject calculated, there were still loopholes; especially when the Long Bien District Police Command determined that the Criminal Police Team and the 14 Ward Police must capture this robber at all costs. The physical characteristics, means, and methods of the subject were known by heart by every detective. Even the times Tran Que Lam put a fake license plate from another province on his red Wave motorbike, and briefly went to Long Bien district, he was discovered and closely followed.

“More than once, we organized a manhunt to capture the subject, but failed. He drove at a speed of almost 100 kilometers, jumped onto Highway 5, and onto Thanh Tri Bridge. In that situation, to ensure the safety of the people, the pursuing force, and the subject himself, we were ordered to stop chasing,” said a criminal investigator from Long Bien District Police.

At 10:00 a.m. on August 11, 2017, a series of reconnaissance teams simultaneously received information: a Wave motorbike, with full rearview mirrors, driven by a person wearing a helmet covering the head, was moving from Duong bridge to Ngo Gia Tu - Nguyen Van Cu street, into the inner city. Immediately, the information was shared with working group 141 on duty at the intersection of Nguyen Van Cu - Ngoc Lam, requesting coordination to block. The plan to control the suspect was set with the highest requirement, must ensure the safety of the task force, because the subject had a gun.

Not knowing that they were being targeted, the motorbike slowly stopped at the traffic light at the Nguyen Van Cu - Ngoc Lam intersection. As expected, the detectives rushed in and locked the front and rear of the motorbike.

As soon as he heard the sharp voice: “Criminal police here”, the man kicked over his motorbike, ran away, and at the same time pulled out his gun, pointed it behind him, and pulled the trigger. The cold “click” sound echoed in the crowded street, but fortunately, the bullet did not explode.

In just a split second, the detective's neat lock and whip controlled the man, and took away the pistol with the stuck bullet and 3 bullets in the chamber. "Super" robber Tran Que Lam was arrested, after exactly 3 years of "practicing".

According to ANTĐ