Plan to arrest quarry owner and explosives dealer

(Baonghean.vn)- Although he is the owner of a quarry, Mr. Thanh also sells explosives.

» Secretly bought 34kg of explosives to illegally mine rocks

On October 26, the Environmental Police Department (PC49) handed over Tran Van Thanh (Da Son hamlet, Nghia Phuc commune, Tan Ky district) to the provincial police's Investigation Security Agency to investigate and clarify the act of storing 34kg of explosives.

Previously, through reconnaissance work, PC49 received information that at Len Roi stone quarry (Nghia Phuc commune, Tan Ky district), there was a local quarry owner who regularly used illegal explosives to exploit stone. Through investigation, the detectives determined that Mr. Tran Van Thanh, a local, was the owner of the aforementioned stone quarry.

Mr. Tran Van Thanh and the evidence of 34kg of explosives. Photo: Hai Chau

For a long time, Mr. Thanh not only exploited rocks but also used explosives illegally, but the local government and functional forces were unaware. To catch him red-handed, Department PC49 established Project 117N. Detectives discovered that Mr. Thanh often had relationships with some subjects in other localities to buy and sell illegal goods.

There was even a day when Mr. Thanh rode his motorbike all the way to Nghia Dan district to buy explosives. Each time they bought illegal goods, the above subjects often met in mountainous areas, far from residential areas, at night.

On the night of October 23, detectives discovered Mr. Thanh preparing a sack of snake carcasses and cash, then hurriedly leaving the house on a motorbike. Assuming that Mr. Thanh was going to buy illegal explosives, the task force decided to catch him red-handed but were wary of his reckless actions.

That very night, under the direction of the Special Task Force, two reconnaissance teams were ambushed at two locations to monitor Mr. Tran Van Thanh's actions. The first reconnaissance team was tasked with ambushing at the Len Roi quarry (500m from Mr. Thanh's house); the reconnaissance team was also tasked with ambushing at the area where Mr. Thanh and his wife lived.

"According to the plan, when discovering Mr. Thanh transporting contraband, the reconnaissance teams had to take the initiative in coordinating actions, but in a very secretive manner. Because just hearing strange noises, the subject was ready to throw away the contraband and escape," said Lieutenant Colonel Tran Minh Son - Deputy Head of PC49.

The sack containing explosives was stored by Mr. Thanh together with the sacks of corn and rice. Photo: Hai Chau

After nearly a night of ambush, at around 4:30 a.m. on October 24, the detectives discovered a person riding a motorbike on a deserted mountain road and the person on the motorbike was Mr. Thanh. When the detectives approached about 100m to catch the subject red-handed, Mr. Thanh did not go straight to the quarry but turned into a shortcut to his home, so the arrest plan was changed.

When Mr. Thanh carried the sack into the house, then used sacks of corn and rice to block the area, the detectives decided to switch to an administrative inspection plan and arrest the subject. At about 8:30 a.m. the same day, while Mr. Thanh was at the quarry, a man came to ask about being a worker.

Mr. Thanh took the guest home. While Mr. Thanh was receiving the guest, detectives working with Tan Ky District Police and Nghia Phuc Commune Police appeared and conducted an administrative inspection.

Here, the authorities discovered in the horizontal house some snake skins containing corn and rice, with a blue bag in the middle. Inside the blue bag was 1 plastic bag containing 25 electric detonators and 17 plastic bags, each bag containing 10 brown explosives, totaling 34kg.

During the on-site investigation, Mr. Thanh stated that the above prohibited goods were purchased on the open market. To investigate and clarify, the task force took Mr. Tran Van Thanh and all the above prohibited goods to the Provincial Police Department of Investigation.

Len Roi, where Mr. Thanh illegally mined stone. Photo: Hai Chau

At the investigation agency, Mr. Thanh confessed that in order to illegally mine rocks, he rode a motorbike to Nghia Dan district to meet a male subject (unknown hometown) to buy 34kg of explosives, priced at 150,000 VND/kg and 25 detonators, priced at 15,000 VND/detonator.

On October 25, PC49 handed over Mr. Tran Van Thanh and all the evidence of the case to the Investigation Security Agency for further investigation and expansion according to its authority. After 1 day of fighting, the Investigation Security Department of Nghe An Police arrested another subject related to the case of illegal explosives trading of Mr. Tran Van Thanh.

The case is continuing to expand and investigate.

Hai Chau