Exposing the cover of the person who 'speaks Vietnamese fluently' and hides himself to sell products online

In October 2020, a 4-person reconnaissance team led by Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Thi Thu was assigned to capture.

The information Thu and her teammates initially received was only an international arrest warrant containing the suspect's name, age, height, weight, a few identifying features, and a portrait photo. Determined to capture the suspect before Tet, Thu's shift lasted 6 hours longer than usual to read the documents and track him down.

Collected documents show that Min illegally entered Vietnam through the border area at the end of 2018. Hundreds of people suspected of having a relationship with Min across the provinces were set up by Thu's reconnaissance team.

Compared to Vietnamese wanted criminals, Thu assessed that capturing international criminals is "much more difficult". When they decide to flee to Vietnam, they have prepared their route and escape plan. Moreover, capturing criminals with foreign elements requires much more caution to avoid mistakes, causing unnecessary consequences.

Through their expertise, Thu's working group discovered that Min had a Vietnamese identity card under the name Dang Thi Huong and a temporary residence book in Vo Cuong ward, Bac Ninh city. Min spent 400 million VND to make these fake documents. When she had a Vietnamese identity card, Min applied for a passport, flew back and forth between Vietnam and Thailand, opened a bank account, registered for temporary residence, applied for a job, and lived as a "Vietnamese".

After nearly two months of undercover, detectives discovered that the female suspect rented a house in Bac Ninh city to gather goods and "livestream" online sales. Thu led a task force that spent many sleepless nights in Bac Ninh to learn Min's daily routine and movements. The suspect looked very Vietnamese and spoke fluent Vietnamese but had little interaction.

During the trading process, Min did not appear in person but sat at home directing her employees. All of Min's transactions were done via social networks and phone. When customers came to pick up the goods, she did not show up either.

Lieutenant Nguyen Thi Thu on duty. Photo: NVCC

To approach the suspect, Thu pretended to be a customer. After a few small orders to gain trust, Thu suggested coming to see the goods in person to get a large quantity. At noon on December 15, 2020, pretending to be a customer, Thu and her teammates stormed the three-story house to control the suspect. Min showed her ID card and said "the police arrested the wrong person".

Authorities said that after more than 5 hours of "mental struggle", Min confessed to his actions. This is one of the most stubborn suspects that female detective Thu has ever met.

In November 2021, Min and the group that helped her forge ID cards were sentenced to 3-7 years in prison by the Hanoi People's Court for the crime.Using fake seals or documents of agencies or organizations.

The Criminal Police Department said that Lieutenant Thu "got into the police force" through her husband. After graduating from the Pedagogical College, she worked as a primary school teacher in Gia Lai. After nearly two years of teaching, Thu followed her police husband to Hanoi to start a new life.

At first, she did many jobs that were not related to her field of expertise to make ends meet. In early 2010, Thu took the entrance exam to the police force, working at the Criminal Investigation Department (formerly C52). After 6 months of training, Thu joined the armed forces as she had dreamed of since childhood.

When she entered the industry at the age of 31, Thu had to try harder than her peers. One day, there was a heavy storm, and she had to be on duty suddenly, so she asked her husband to pick up her child. After 8 pm, her husband called to inform her that he had forgotten "the job his wife asked him to do". She quickly closed the file, cried and rode her motorbike in the rain for more than 10 km to the school and found her 7th grade son sitting behind the bars of the school gate. As soon as they met, the boy burst into tears and the mother and son cried together. Since then, Thu has promised herself many times to spend more time with her child, but due to the nature of her and her husband's work, she has not been able to fully fulfill this promise.