Trial of a gang involved in inter-district motorcycle theft.

On August 28, the People's Court of Quy Hop District held a public trial of the criminal case against defendants Le Van Quy (born in 1994, residing in Yen Hop commune, Quy Hop district, Nghe An province) and Nguyen Van Quan (born in 1997, residing in Cam Yen commune, Cam Xuyen district, Ha Tinh province) for the crime of "theft of property," and Chu Quang Vinh (born in 1985, residing in Thai Hoa town, Nghe An province) for the crime of "receiving stolen property."

Defendants Vinh, Quy, and Quan, from left to right. Photo: Phan Giang

According to the indictment, in less than half a month, from March 18th to March 29th, 2018, this gang committed four motorcycle thefts in the communes of Tho Hop, Yen Hop, Dong Hop, and Nghia Xuan, with a total value of 62 million VND. The gang was led by Le Van Quy, who is a cousin of Quy and Quan.

The modus operandi of Quy and Quan was to wander around the communes of Quy Hop district to scout for vulnerabilities and steal from people by using a crowbar they carried to break the locks on motorbikes.

The two suspects removed the license plates and mirrors from all the stolen motorcycles and took them to Thai Hoa town to have Chu Quang Vinh sell them. During these thefts, Nguyen Van Quan acted as a lookout while Quy carried out the thefts.

It is known that Le Van Quy was sentenced to 27 months in prison by the Nghia Dan District Court in 2014 for the crime of "destruction of property". Chu Quang Vinh was ordered by the Thai Hoa Town Court to undergo compulsory drug rehabilitation at the Nghe An Provincial Drug Rehabilitation Center.

Based on the evidence and documents examined, the court sentenced defendant Le Van Quy to 2.5 years in prison, defendant Nguyen Van Quan to 2 years in prison for the crime of "theft of property," and defendant Chu Quang Vinh to 6 months in prison for the crime of "receiving stolen property."