Unexpected details cause Nghe An 'super thief' to be caught in Ha Tinh

On March 19, speaking to reporters, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Quang Thanh, Head of Nghi Xuan District Police, Ha Tinh Province, said: Nghi Xuan District Police Investigation Agency is continuing to detain and expand the investigation into the case.theft of propertyin the area against Dang Cong Nguyen (born 1970), residing in block 13, Nghi Huong ward, Cua Lo town, Nghe An province. Initially, Nguyen confessed to being the perpetrator of a series of break-ins in offices and cultural houses in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, causing more than 40 property thefts, causing public panic over the past time.

Super thief "broke through" nearly 40 offices

Previously, in mid-March 2020, Nghi Xuan District Police received a report from a local school that a thief took advantage of the darkness to break into the auditorium, stealing a projector, speakers, amplifiers and some other properties. During the investigation, detectives encountered many difficulties because the thief carried out the theft very professionally, leaving almost no traces at the scene, even the camera images were very blurry.

Subject Dang Cong Nguyen at the Investigation Police Agency. Photo: Ha Thu

Just a few days later, at the village cultural houses in Xuan Hong and Xuan Lien communes in this district, there were also incidents of thieves breaking the locks, breaking in and stealing all the property inside.

Through investigation at the scene, clues about the subject's portrait were sketched through the camera footage in the room. Although not clear, but combined with the limited data from previous robberies, the detective determined that these office break-ins were all carried out by one person. This person was very professional, knowledgeable or at least had time to research the area very carefully before committing the act.

Immediately after that, portraits of subjects with criminal records, especially those related to crimes such as extortion, theft, robbery, etc. in the area were created to fight and monitor. However, during the screening process, these subjects all had alibis. At this time, the detectives decided to expand the investigation area, coordinating with the police in neighboring areas such as Duc Tho, Hong Linh town and neighboring districts of Nghe An province such as Vinh city, Hung Nguyen, Thanh Chuong, Cua Lo town, etc.

The suspect's crime tools. Photo: Ha Thu

Surprisingly, at the same time in Nghi Xuan district, there were cases of property theft, and criminals also broke into schools, broke the locks and stole many valuable properties. Of these, 6 cases occurred in Duc Tho district, 2 cases occurred in Hong Linh town, but up to now the case has not been closed because no clues about the perpetrators have been found.

Meanwhile, sources from Nghe An Provincial Police also showed that recently in many localities in the province, there have been cases of offices and schools being broken into, many valuable assets being stolen, with estimated damage of hundreds of millions of dong. These thefts have the same characteristics: the thieves took advantage of the darkness to break in, there were no guards watching, and the locations were often far from residential areas, with few people passing by. In particular, the areas where thefts frequently occurred were Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Dien Chau districts and Hoang Mai town.

Unexpected details make "super thief" fall into the net

Senior Lieutenant Phan Anh Dong, Deputy Head of the Social Order Crime Investigation Team, Nghi Xuan District Police, said: After many months of searching for the suspect without any results, the case seemed to be at a standstill. However, looking back at the case files, there was a detail that Nghi Xuan District Police paid attention to, and that was also the key to solving the deadlock. That was the detail of the property theft at Nguyen Sy Sach High School, Thanh Chuong District, which took place in July 2014.

Reviewing the records shows that at the above mentioned time, the subject Dang Cong Nguyen (born 1970), residing in block 13, Ha Huy Tap ward, Vinh city, took advantage of the dark night to sneak into the school to steal a computer.

The incident was then investigated by Thanh Chuong District Police, Nguyen was arrested and sentenced to 40 months in prison. An officer of Thanh Chuong District Police provided additional information, at this time in Thanh Chuong District in particular and some other localities of Nghe An province, there was a surge of theft in offices, but Nguyen only admitted to the theft at Nguyen Sy Sach High School. This is a professional thief, having been sentenced to prison 4 times for the same crime of property theft.

From this information, a reconnaissance team immediately went to Nguyen's registered residence to learn about his life since he returned to his hometown after completing his prison term in 2017. However, Nguyen did not return to live here but lived with his wife and two children in Nghi Huong ward, Cua Lo town.

Awarding the special outstanding achievements to the Special Investigation Team. Photo: Ha Thu

From the collected data and evidence, identifying Nguyen as the number 1 suspect in the office theft cases in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces in the recent past, Nghi Xuan District Police asked for the opinion of the Provincial Police leaders, established a special project to fight and plan to arrest him.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Quang Thanh, Head of the Investigation Team, added that through research and analysis of the subject's past records, the requirement for the Investigation Team is to catch him red-handed, along with specific evidence and physical evidence, in order to fight and exploit him. Otherwise, with his cunning nature, Nguyen will be evasive and deny his crime. To do this, a secret reconnaissance team hid in the subject's private home to monitor his every move. After many days of persistent ambush, on the night of March 10, 2021, the detective discovered Nguyen preparing a rack to store things, attached it to the back of the motorbike with license plate 37B2-137.40, then quietly drove out of the house. Knowing that the subject was about to act, the detective immediately reported back to ask for instructions to solve the case, and on the other hand, followed the subject closely so as not to lose any traces.

Leaving home, Dang Cong Nguyen drove across Cua Hoi bridge to Ha Tinh province. While driving, he was very alert, frequently looking back and observing the surroundings to see if anyone was following him. In addition, to avoid being detected by security cameras at people's houses, Nguyen deliberately drove around many alleys. At around 8:00 p.m. the same day, he went to a cemetery in Xuan Pho commune, Nghi Xuan district to hide his motorbike, then carried the prepared tools along the rice fields, walked about 2km to the cultural house of Thuan Hop village, broke the lock and broke in to take an amplifier, speakers and some other items, then was raided by detectives in the task force and caught red-handed.

Initially, Nguyen admitted to having single-handedly committed 8 burglaries in Nghi Xuan district, 6 in Duc Tho district and 2 in Hong Linh town. In addition, Nguyen and his accomplices also committed more than 20 burglaries in schools and cultural houses in districts in Nghe An province to steal property. The case is still under investigation and expansion./.