Identifying property theft tricks

Many daring robberies

The most daring theft recently occurred with assets worth over 1 billion VND on the night of October 6, 2021. Late at night, thieves broke into Nghe Tinh General Materials Joint Stock Company in Tan Tien block, Hung Binh ward, Vinh city, broke into 02 safes, took away 540 million VND and many other assets, with a total value of nearly 01 billion VND.

On the morning of October 7, after receiving a report from the owner of the victim establishment, Vinh City Police established a special investigation team. On the morning of October 8, the perpetrator, Tran Van Linh (born in 1988), residing in Nghia Minh Commune, Nghia Dan District, was arrested. This subject rented a room in Block 15, Le Loi Ward, Vinh City.

The subjects in the group that stole 2.5 billion VND worth of property in Vinh City. Photo: Document

Not long before, on October 4, also in Vinh city, the police force discovered a property theft case, arrested 4 subjects, and clarified the amount of stolen property worth more than 2.5 billion VND. These subjects specialize in stealing at restaurants, service businesses, apartments, breaking into houses, construction works... Notably, they caused a theft at Havana store located on Le Mao extended street in Tan Phuc block, Vinh Tan ward (Vinh city). Here, the subjects broke in and stole all the furniture, equipment, lighting systems, cameras, restaurant dishes... worth about 350 million VND.

In the first 6 months of the year, Nghe An province discovered409 casesrelated to crimes against social order, including207 cases of property theft, accounting for 56.6%. From the end of August to the end of September 2021 alone, dozens of thefts were discovered with quite large amounts of property, operating recklessly and daringly.

In addition to Vinh city, in other districts and towns, property theft crimes also occurred more frequently than in the same period in 2020. For example, on September 23, 2021, Que Phong District Police verified and clarified a group of 5 buffalo thieves.butcherfor sale in the Quang River area, bordering Muong Noc commune, Que Phong district and Chau Thang commune, Quy Chau district. This group colluded to steal buffaloes and cows from the people and butchered them to sell.

Deputy Director of the Provincial Police - Colonel Nguyen Duc Hai said that recently, the situation of property theft crimes has shown signs of increasing. The number of cases related to property theft accounts for about 50% of the cases detected and handled by the authorities. This is an alarming sign, so in addition to the authorities strengthening the fight, detection and handling, it is also necessary to increase propaganda so that people can take preventive measures.

Many sophisticated tricks

The abandoned house in Vinh City used by the suspects to hide stolen property. Photo courtesy of Duc Vu

The police force investigated the scene, found clues and arrested a series of property theft groups. At the same time, through that, they also identified the criminal methods of this type of crime. They often take advantage of the time when the victim is subjective, negligent, the owner's loopholes, using many means and measures to steal property.

For example, the group of 4 people who were recently robbed by Vinh City Police of about 2.5 billion VND in property, this group often steals between 0:00 and 4:00 a.m. At that time, there are few people passing by, restaurants are closed and construction sites are temporarily suspended. They use tools and means to break into doors to steal property. They choose shortcuts to enter and exit the city; wearing masks, disabling the electrical system and security cameras, breaking in to steal property, then using a trailer to transport the stolen property and splitting up into many routes to escape.

Some warnings and measures to prevent property theft crimes. Photo: Provided by the police

For private homes, offices, businesses, and schools, to steal property, before committing a crime, "thieves" often find ways to approach the location to investigate and learn about the movement patterns of the property owner; loopholes, shortcomings, and lack of vigilance in the management and protection of property to find the right time to commit the theft.

The target is households that are often away from home, unattended; houses in sparsely populated areas; households that live isolated, with little contact with neighbors. Or families that do not have anti-theft systems, or have surveillance cameras but are placed in locations that are easy to detect or are easily disabled by the subject. When given the opportunity, they often open or break locks; use long sticks with glue on the end to steal cell phones and keys to open doors; or climb walls, fences, crawl through windows, vents, climb onto balconies to break in and steal property...

Motorbikes are also often stolen, the main method of criminals is to take advantage of loopholes and lack of vigilance such as leaving the motorbike without an anti-theft lock, leaving no one watching or not removing the motorbike key, the subject uses a universal key to break the lock and steal the motorbike; break into the house to steal the motorbike when having the key and then escape. In mountainous areas, people often leave their motorbikes on the side of the road to go to the fields, this is one of the loopholes for criminals to take action.

In addition to stealing property, criminals also take advantage of the dark night when people are fast asleep; fields and gardens far from homes, with no one watching over them; fields and gardens located along roadsides to steal agricultural products and property. For crimes of stealing livestock, they often take advantage of the habit of grazing freely, not being locked up at night, and having no one watching or guarding them. Criminals use “bait”, electric shock, noose… or break into livestock areas to steal them, transport them to other places for consumption; or kill them for meat.

A subject in Thanh Chuong district has just been tried by the Provincial People's Court for breaking into a house to steal property and assaulting the homeowner. Photo courtesy of Tran Vu

In addition, the subjects also disguise themselves as street vendors, toll collectors, maintenance staff, and marketers of some popular services to enter houses, observe and approach the property, and then commit theft. This is a new trick that people need to pay attention to and be vigilant about.

Proactive prevention

Nghe An police as well as other functional forces have developed a "Crime Prevention Handbook" to help people grasp preventive measures and raise their vigilance against all types of crimes. With property theft crimes, to avoid theft, people should lock their doors when leaving their homes, workplaces or going to bed and regularly check and repair the door system when damaged. Property used must be kept in a safe location. Do not leave large amounts of money or gold at home or in the trunk of your car.

When you are away from home, you should ask someone to look after your valuables or leave them in a safe place. You should build a high fence, install a night lighting system, and install surveillance cameras or an anti-theft alarm. In addition, you should build a close relationship with the people around you and know the phone number of the local police force so that you can get timely support when needed.

Some warnings and measures to prevent property theft crimes. Photo: Provided by the police

People need to pay attention to detect strangers appearing and loitering in areas with suspicious signs; actively participate in reporting crimes, especially property theft. When discovering information and documents about theft and consumption of stolen property, promptly notify the nearest police station for support.

Hoai Thu