The man holding a grenade barricaded himself in a house in Nghe An was the leader of a large drug ring.

A man suspected of holding a grenade and barricading himself in wrote a challenging status on Facebook.

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite the heavy rain, many curious people still gathered along Hong Bang Street to watch the authorities arrest the suspect. The Facebook account believed to belong to this suspect still posted a status with a defiant attitude.

According to Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung - Deputy Director, Head of the Investigation Police Agency of Nghe An Province Police, Le Ngoc Son (33 years old, residing on Hong Bang Street, Le Mao Ward, Vinh City) has a criminal record for illegal possession of narcotics. Son is also a subject in a major drug case.

Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Provincial Police. Photo: Tien Hung

Authorities determined that several years ago, Le Ngoc Son led a trafficking ring that transported a large amount of heroin and synthetic drugs from Laos to Nghe An, then to the southern provinces for consumption. Nghe An Provincial Police have established a special project to combat this subject.

“When we broke the case, we arrested four suspects, but one of them took advantage of the situation and committed suicide. At the same time, Son learned the information and fled to China and then to Germany,” said Colonel Hung.

Le Ngoc Son at the police station. Photo: Tien Hung

Recently, Son secretly returned to Vietnam. On September 24, he brought two swords to a car garage in Nghi Phu commune and broke the windshield of a car. This action is said to have stemmed from a conflict also related to the drug case.

“This is an opportunity that we think we need to arrest again. Therefore, we have directed secret units to examine the scene, examine the vehicle and property, take statements and issue an order to detain the person in case of emergency” - Deputy Director of Nghe An Provincial Police said.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Cuong - Deputy Chief of Vinh City Police said that on the morning of October 1, the unit sent a team to Son's house on Hong Bang Street to execute the order to detain the person in an emergency. However, at this time, Son and Hoang Ngoc Sinh (31 years old, Dong Son commune, Do Luong), each held a grenade to threaten and fight back against the police; at the same time, they entered the house to barricade themselves. Sinh has 2 previous convictions and had just been released from prison.

Awarding prizes to units and individuals. Photo: Tien Hung

“Upon receiving the information, the Provincial Police Director, Colonel Nguyen Huu Cau, mobilized forces to the scene. With the goal of ensuring absolute safety for officers, soldiers and people, not allowing the subject to escape. After being persuaded, at more than 11 o'clock the same day, Sinh came out and handed over the grenade,” said Lieutenant Colonel Cuong.

Meanwhile, Le Ngoc Son continued to hold grenades in his house. During this time, he also repeatedly challenged the police on Facebook.

Considering these two criminals to be particularly dangerous, Nghe An police mobilized more than 200 soldiers to the scene, directly commanded by Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung. During the process of persuading, Son's girlfriend, father, siblings, and friends were also brought to persuade him to surrender, but to no avail.

At 11:40 p.m., realizing that Le Ngoc Son was tired and had a positive change in his ideology, the provincial police leaders sent Captain Pham Van Hoi - Captain of the Mobile Police Company (PK20) to gradually approach and persuade him.

After 10 minutes of Captain Hoi's persuasion, Son finally surrendered his weapon. Searching Son's house, the police seized 3 grenades, a gas cylinder, a knife and some other evidence.

Scene of the award ceremony. Photo: Tien Hung

As the person directly in charge at the scene, Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung said that after many hours of unsuccessful persuasion, the provincial police leadership determined not to let the incident drag on until the next day.

“If we let it drag on until the next day, it would be very dangerous because this is a busy, crowded area. Therefore, at around 11pm, we started preparing to launch an attack plan. Explosives, tear gas, sniper rifles… were prepared. All positions were ready,” said Colonel Hung.