The hunt for a fugitive posing as a village chief

(Baonghean.vn) - After 14 years of hiding from arrest for illegally trading nearly 1 kg of opium, Thau was elected by the people as the village chief, then elected to the People's Council of Mai Son commune (Tuong Duong) for the 2016-2021 term. But Thau could not hide forever...

Escaped from arrest and became village chief

In the past few days, the village of Mai Son (Tuong Duong) has not stopped being stirred up by the news that Vi Van Thang, the head of Na Hang village, was arrested by detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (PC52 - Provincial Police) right in the yard of the People's Committee of Mai Son commune. When the arrest warrant was read out, the people and officials of Mai Son commune were shocked to find out that the gentle and trustworthy village head had been wanted 14 years ago for the crime of buying, selling and illegally transporting drugs.

In 2000, Vi Van Thau (born in 1978) and Vi Van Quang (born in 1976), both from Chau Kim commune, Que Phong district, went to Laos to buy nearly 1kg of opium with the intention of bringing it back to Vietnam to sell for profit. On the way back to Vietnam, the two subjects were surrounded and arrested by the police. Taking advantage of a loophole, Vi Van Thau escaped. Vi Van Quang was arrested with nearly 1kg of opium as evidence. Quang was then brought to trial and sentenced to 7 years in prison.

Vi Van Thau 16 years ago. (Photo provided by police)

After escaping, Thau disappeared, sometimes going to Laos, sometimes hiding in the deep forest, making it impossible for the police to catch him. In January 2002, the Provincial Police Investigation Agency issued a nationwide wanted notice for Vi Van Thau. Although many units concentrated their forces to verify and search for Thau's whereabouts, they were unsuccessful.

To avoid detection by the authorities, Thau only occasionally contacted his parents, but never his siblings. In 2002, Thau fled to Na Hang village, Mai Son commune (Ky Son) to live in seclusion. Here, Thau appeared to be a gentle, quiet person, so he gradually gained the trust of the villagers. Shortly thereafter, Thau changed his name to Vi Van Thang, was registered in the household register, and married the daughter of the Deputy Secretary of the Commune Party Committee at that time.

As life went on, Thau gradually gained the trust of the people. In 2005, Thau was elected as deputy village chief, and in 2008, he was elected as village chief. And in May 2016, Thau was elected to the Mai Son Commune People's Council for the 2016-2020 term. Thau thought that after so many years of hiding, along with changing his name and becoming village chief, no one would discover him.

After getting out of prison, I will slaughter a cow to thank the officers.

The verification and search for Thau seemed to have reached a dead end. Until 2015, during a raid on a wanted criminal in the border area, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Police Department discovered a person named Vi Van Thang (residing in Na Hang village, Mai Son commune, Tuong Duong district) with an unclear background. In his profile, Thang left the section for his biological parents' names blank, without filling in any information. In particular, the hometown section was not clearly stated.

Verifying the records, combined with information obtained through professional measures, the detectives had grounds to confirm that Vi Van Thang was the subject the police had been looking for for a long time. However, in order to avoid wrongful convictions, a careful verification plan was carried out. Only a short time later, the detectives reported that Vi Van Thang, the head of Na Hang village, was Vi Van Thau - the man wanted 14 years ago.

Vi Van Thau after 14 years of being wanted under the guise of being the village chief. (Photo: Cam Phu)

The plan to capture Thau was drawn up. However, when starting to carry out the plan, one thing that the detectives had to consider was that Thau was currently the village chief and had won the trust and affection of the people. If they captured Thau at home, it would not be beneficial and could give the subject a chance to escape.

Immediately afterwards, other detectives were dispatched and lured Thau out to the Mai Son Commune People's Committee headquarters. Here, when he arrived at the commune People's Committee yard, when the detectives called his name, Thau was stunned, then bowed his head, admitted his guilt, and put his hands in handcuffs.

When he was arrested, Thau said that he had told his wife about his criminal past and had intended to turn himself in many times. But with a comfortable life with a wife and 3 children, and the trust of the people, Thau did not have the courage to do so. When he saw the cadres holding hands from the house to the commune, his intuition told him that today was the day Thau would be arrested.

Without any resentment, Thau said that it was appropriate that he had broken the law and had to pay for his crime. And thanks to that, Thau's wife and children were able to return to visit her husband's hometown properly. During the process of escorting the subject to the headquarters, Thau also said that after being released from prison, he would slaughter a cow and invite the officers to join in the celebration because then, Thau would become a...

Pham Bang