Hunting down the ringleader of a dog theft ring in Nghe An

The Criminal Police Department of Nghe An Province Police said that the unit has just successfully broken up a case, eliminating a professional dog and cat theft ring in Nghi Loc and surrounding areas.

According to information provided by investigators, at the end of 2019, through the work of grasping the situation, detectives of Team 5, Criminal Police Department discovered that subject Luong Van Duong (born in 1962), residing in Nghi Phong commune, Nghi Loc district, had many suspicious signs related to dog stealing activities.

Through investigation, Luong Van Duong was identified as the ringleader of a professional dog theft ring in the area, specializing in organizing people to carry out reckless and daring dog thefts and then buying them back.

Number of dogs and cats seized at the scene. Photo: Anh Quan

After many months of collecting information and following the subject's trail, the Task Force gradually clarified the rules of operation of this gang. To serve the purpose of purchasing dogs, Duong recruited a number of juniors who were notorious criminals and divided them into different areas to carry out missions. They always carried weapons to be ready to fight back when discovered. Duong instructed his juniors to regularly change their methods and tricks of committing crimes as well as their delivery locations. The locations they chose for delivery were often deserted places far from the center, with few people passing by.

In the early morning of May 15, the Task Force mobilized forces to solve the case. Secret task forces raided and caught Luong Van Duong red-handed at his home. At that time, Duong was weighing and purchasing dogs and cats that other subjects had just stolen.

Evidence seized at the scene. Photo: Anh Quan

At the scene, there were 4 subjects delivering dogs and cats to Duong, including: Vo Van Thang (born in 1993), Pham Van Hung (born in 1995), Le Xuan Dat (born in 2001) and Vo Van Cong (born in 1998), all residing in Hamlet 3, Phuc Tho Commune, Nghi Loc District. Confiscated at the scene were 3 dogs and 1 cat, which were evidence that the subjects had just stolen. Confiscated at the house were 2 dogs being kept in iron cages along with many dogs that had been processed and frozen.

At the police station, the task force clarified the roles of the subjects in the case. Accordingly, under Duong's orders, the four subjects Thang, Hung, Dat and Cong divided into two groups to carry out property thefts. After stealing dogs, the subjects sold them to Duong for money to spend. They often carried out their crimes at dawn. The tools they used were nooses with electric shocks attached, and when they went, they carried guns that shot pebbles. If they were discovered by people, they would shoot bullets to escape.

Subject Luong Van Duong. Photo: Anh Quan

Between May 12 and 14, the subjects stole 3 dogs in Nghi Loc district. According to the appraisal results, the value of the evidence seized at Duong's house was 9.3 million VND. Investigators said that Luong Van Duong was a cunning and reckless subject with 6 previous convictions, including 5 for theft. All the dogs and cats that the subjects stole were sold to Duong for 50,000 VND/kg (for live dogs) and 200,000 - 400,000 VND/dog for dead dogs. Depending on the time, the price of dogs and cats increased according to their previous agreement.

Based on the criminal acts of the subjects, the Nghe An Police Investigation Agency has decided to prosecute the case of "Theft of property", prosecute and temporarily detain 5 subjects to serve the investigation./.