Clues to find suspect who stole 100 gold bars in Ho Chi Minh City

The owner of a jewelry store on Ha Huy Giap Street, Thanh Loc Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City reported that all 108 taels of gold jewelry prepared for sale on God of Wealth Day, with a total value of about 4.5 billion VND, were stolen in the early morning of January 29. Due to the serious nature of the incident, District 12 Police reported to Ho Chi Minh City Police, coordinating with the Criminal Police Department (PC02) to find traces and arrest the perpetrator.

Assuming that before committing the crime, the thief may have appeared here many times, even buying and selling gold to study the terrain and operating rules, the investigators divided themselves into "examining" the thief's identifying features through security cameras in the gold shop and the surrounding area.

On the night of the crime, the suspect was over 30 years old, tall and thin, wearing a long-sleeved jacket, a cap, a mask, and a large black backpack... He climbed the electric pole in front of the gold shop, climbed onto the first floor balcony, broke the door, and broke in. At that time, the family members of the gold shop owner were sleeping in separate rooms. The thief then went down the stairs to the business area on the ground floor and stayed there for quite a while before stealing all the gold.

Pham Van Nu confessed his actions at the investigation agency. Photo: Nhat Vy

Comparing the thief's features with those of people who had visited the gold shop or appeared in this area, the police found that Pham Van Nu (from Dong Thap) had a similar appearance. Before Tet, he had also appeared near the gold shop several times with a suspicious look. Expanding the scope of the investigation, the investigation agency discovered that the time the thief escaped was also when Nu took a motorbike taxi on Highway 13, heading to Binh Duong.

Along with many other investigation bases, Colonel Mai Hoang (Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Police) directed PC02, District 12 Police to coordinate with Binh Duong province to solve the case.

On the evening of January 30, after more than a day of investigation, detectives raided a motel in Thuan An Ward, Binh Duong Province, and arrested Nu while she was staying with her lover. Searching the motel room, the police found more than 100 gold bars of evidence hidden on the roof of the bathroom. Nu admitted to the crime.

Some of the tools Nu brought to commit the crime. Photo: Nhat Vy

Nu confessed that he had a wife and children in his hometown but still lived with his girlfriend. Last November, he broke into the Kim Hung gold shop on Phan Dinh Giot Street, Thuan An Town, Binh Duong Province, and stole many bracelets, earrings, necklaces, rings, etc. Nu divided the jewelry into small pieces and sold them to gold shops in Tan Uyen and Tan Phuoc Khanh areas for nearly 800 million VND.

About half a month ago, Nu planned to rob a gold shop on Ha Huy Giap Street, District 12, because he had been there to do business, knew there was no security guard and the terrain was easy to break into. A few days before Tet, he went to the area around the gold shop many times to study the operating rules and living habits of the family members.

After taking more than 100 taels of gold, Nu walked to the nearby Ga Intersection area to catch a motorbike taxi back to his motel in Binh Duong, hid the gold and waited for an opportunity to sell it, but was arrested. He claimed that his girlfriend did not know about the two thefts.

Initially, the investigation agency determined that Nu committed the crime alone, and continued to clarify the related actions of the gold shops that purchased the suspect's stolen property at the Binh Duong gold shop./.