Nghe An man surrenders after 26 years on the run because he misses his mother

Greedy for money, drug carrier

On the afternoon of August 13, the Criminal Investigation Department of Nghe An Provincial Police said that the unit had handed overVi Van Hoc (born 1964, from Muong Xen town, Ky Son district) was handed over to the authorities for investigation according to their authority. Hoc has been a fugitive for the past 26 years.

Major Hoang Chi Hieu - Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (PC52) said that Vi Van Hoc is a fugitive who has cost the investigation team a lot of time and effort. Since the police investigation agency issued a wanted notice, Hoc has never once returned home or contacted his relatives. Therefore, information about Hoc is very vague and difficult to determine.

Vi Van Hoc at the police station. Photo: NH

In the early 90s of the last century, Vi Van Hoc was the director of the cinema in Ky Son district. The job of carrying projectors around the border made Hoc acquainted with Phu My - a Laotian drug lord. The two became so close that they shared their secrets.

After a while, Phu My asked Hoc to carry drugs from the border to Vinh City to sell. Phu My promised to pay him handsomely, with each trip being up to millions of dong. At that time, it was a huge amount of money, dozens of times higher than the income from working in a movie theater. Seeing that it was a good deal, Hoc agreed.

On July 11, 1992, Phu My gave Hoc a bag containing 13.2 kg of opium and advanced 200,000 VND to transport the "goods" from Ky Son to Vinh City. On July 15, Phu My would be in Vinh City to receive the goods before delivering them to the customer.

Hoc brought the drugs along with the broken projector to Vinh City. After taking the broken projector to a repair shop, Hoc took the drugs to a friend's house and hid them. On July 15, because Phu My had not found a buyer, Hoc remained in Vinh City to keep the goods.

After many days wandering around Vinh City, thanks to his connections, Hoc found a buyer for the "goods". After discussion, the two sides agreed to buy the above amount of drugs at 850,000 VND/kg and set a delivery date.

On July 17, 1992, Hoc brought 8 packages of opium to deliver to a customer at the agreed location. Before leaving, Hoc secretly hid 2 packages of opium for his own purposes. But on the way to the meeting point, he was caught red-handed by Vinh City Police, who confiscated the opium.

During the investigation, Vi Van Hoc tried to escape. Having lived along the border for a long time, Hoc was familiar with the roads. Fearing that the police would catch him, Hoc fled through the forest and waded through streams to Laos. In 1998, the police investigation agency issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Vi Van Hoc.

Turned in because... I miss my mother

During his time in Laos, Hoc changed his name and lived under the guise of a businessman. With a fake name, Hoc obtained Lao nationality, and from there met and married a local woman. Due to his hard-working nature, Hoc won the sympathy of the people around him.

Many years later, through many acquaintances, Hoc got a job as a driver on the Vientiane - Hanoi route. However, Hoc did not dare to return home to visit his family, wife and two children. Later, having accumulated some capital, Hoc switched to the construction materials business and did well.

According to Major Hoang Chi Hieu, because Vi Van Hoc knew many criminals, combined with his high vigilance, many times the detectives tried to approach and verify but failed. However, with the determination to bring Hoc to justice for his crimes, the detectives did not give up.

The detectives began to approach more closely Hoc's brothers, wife and children who were currently living in Ky Son. After a process of persuasion, Hoc's older brother agreed to persuade his younger brother to return and surrender. However, persuading a person who had been on the run for more than 26 years, and had a new family and a stable life was not easy.

During his stay in Laos, Hoc's older brother told him about his mother. The mother of the two brothers is over 90 years old this year, and her health is poor. For the past 26 years, she has been longing for her son whom she has not seen for 26 years. Her wish is to see her son again before she returns to her ancestors. Hearing this, Hoc cried like a child and hugged his brother.

After that conversation, Hoc agreed to return to Vietnam to surrender, but on the condition that he could stop by his home and visit his mother. “I miss home, my family, my parents. There were times when I returned to Muong Xen town but did not dare to go near home. Many times I thought that I only needed to be brave enough to step through the gate to my house to be able to meet my loved ones again, but I was afraid of being arrested so I hurriedly returned to Laos,” Vi Van Hoc shared at the police station.

On August 12, after completing the file, PC52 Nghe An Provincial Police handed Vi Van Hoc over to the relevant unit for further handling according to the law. With a calm expression, Vi Van Hoc guessed what was waiting for him ahead.