More than 1 year of searching for a robber with 4 criminal records

On the morning of May 24, the Criminal Investigation Department of Nghe An Province Police said that the unit had handed over Phan Van Ha (born in 1984, residing in Hamlet 9, Nghi Van Commune, Nghi Loc District) to Vinh City Police for further investigation and handling according to authority.

Phan Van Ha is a dangerous criminal who has committed many thefts, robberies, and property appropriations in many provinces and cities.

Subject Phan Van Ha. Photo provided by police

According to the case file, in March 2017, Ha went out with a group of friends and met Dinh Van Toi (born in 1977), residing in Mai Hung Ward, Hoang Mai Town. While drinking, Ha saw Toi wearing a gold necklace and a ring on his hand, so she became greedy. When everyone left and it was just the two of them, Ha pretended to be drunk, cursed, and beat Toi, forcing him to give her the necklace and gold ring.

Immediately after being robbed of all his gold, Mr. Toi went to Vinh City Police to report the incident. Through investigation and verification, Vinh City Police had enough evidence to charge Phan Van Ha with the crime of “Robbery”.

Sensing that he was being pursued by the police, Ha quickly fled. On July 31, 2017, Vinh City Police issued a wanted notice for Phan Van Ha and transferred him to the Criminal Investigation Department of Nghe An Province Police.

Through studying the suspect's profile, detectives discovered that in 2006, Phan Van Ha, then living in Ho Chi Minh City, committed a theft and was sentenced to 1 year in prison.

After his prison term expired, he returned to his hometown and continued to commit crimes. He was arrested by Nghi Loc District Police and later sentenced to 12 months in prison by the People's Court of this district for the crime of Abuse of trust to appropriate property.

While awaiting execution of his sentence, he went to Hung Nguyen district to steal property and was arrested. That same year, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison by the People's Court of Hung Nguyen district.

Despite being arrested and imprisoned many times, Phan Van Ha still did not give up his habit of stealing. After being released from prison, he went to the southern provinces to continue his acts of theft and fraud.

In 2014, Phan Van Ha was sentenced to 2 years in prison for the same crime by the People's Court of Binh Duong province. After serving his sentence, Ha returned to his hometown and continued to commit the robbery of Mr. Dinh Van Toi mentioned above.

Identifying the subject as having many criminal records, cunning to deal with, and complicated social relationships, the Criminal Investigation Department was determined to arrest him. Using professional measures, the police found clues that Phan Van Ha currently had a girlfriend in Hai Phong, so they sent detectives to verify. However, sensing that he was being hunted, Ha quickly fled Hai Phong.

However, the detectives did not give up and began to search for clues about Ha from the smallest details. For more than a year, the detectives' footprints were imprinted in provinces and cities such as Hai Phong, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi... with the determination to capture Phan Van Ha.

In early May 2018, through many sources, the detectives discovered a subject with identifying characteristics similar to Phan Van Ha in Binh Duong province. Immediately, the detectives set off for the South. Through coordination with the local police, it was learned that the subject lived in the area, but constantly moved and did not have a stable job. However, when the subject was clearly identified, he quickly left Binh Duong for Hanoi to continue hiding.

After many verifications, the Task Force finally determined that the subject was present in Ba Dinh District (Hanoi). Determined not to let the subject escape, on May 15, the Task Force made a plan and successfully captured him.

At the police station, Phan Van Ha confessed that after robbing Dinh Van Toi, he fled to all the southern provinces and cities, to Hai Phong, to Hanoi, staying in each place for no more than a month. Ha lived in hiding, in constant fear, wanting to turn himself in but was afraid because he had committed crimes many times.

After completing the procedures, the Criminal Investigation Department of Nghe An Police handed over the subject to the Investigation Police Department of Vinh City Police for further investigation and handling.