The police are taking statements from the suspects.

At 2:40 PM on September 6, 2025, the Criminal Police Department received a report from the Kim Long Ward Police regarding Ms. HTT (71 years old, residing in Trieu Son Dong residential area, Hoa Chau Ward) being defrauded and having her property stolen by a group of individuals.

Ms. T. (owner of a building materials store) reported being approached by a man with a Southern accent who introduced himself as an excavator operator and claimed to have just unearthed a ceramic jar containing valuable "artifacts," including a bunch of bananas and a branch of betel nut made of gold. The scammer showed the "artifacts" to Ms. T., saying someone had offered 24 million VND for them but he hadn't sold them yet. He then offered to trade the "artifacts" for Ms. T.'s gold ring. Believing him, Ms. T. agreed and was robbed of her ring, worth 5,000 USD.

Recognizing this as not just an isolated fraud case but a multi-province criminal group operating with sophisticated methods, Colonel Ho Xuan Phuong, Deputy Director of the City Police, directed a swift crackdown plan. All factors pointed to a race against time, because any delay would allow the fraudsters to quickly move to another area.

The Criminal Police Department mobilized all its forces, coordinating seamlessly with relevant professional departments and the police of the communes and wards to simultaneously implement various investigative measures. In less than 3 hours, the authorities identified the location and organized a plan to arrest the group of suspects while they were hiding in a guesthouse on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street (Thanh Thuy Ward).

The arrested individuals include: Nguyen Khanh Duy (born in 1983, residing in Tay Ninh province); Phan Van Duc (born in 1990, residing in Ho Chi Minh City); Nguyen Huu Nhon (born in 1983, residing in Tay Ninh province); and Phan Vu Truong (born in 1986, residing in Tay Ninh province).

Through questioning, the suspects confessed to their entire modus operandi. Specifically, they ordered yellow metal objects shaped like bunches of bananas (1.4 million VND) and betel nut branches (700,000 VND) on the TikTok app. They then covered them with soil and sand to make them appear as "excavated artifacts." This group typically traveled to various provinces and cities, targeting elderly and gullible individuals to trick them into buying or exchanging the "artifacts" for gold jewelry. If the victims lacked cash, they would exchange the jewelry the victims were wearing, then steal it and sell it for money.

Using this method, Nguyen Huu Nhon and Phan Vu Truong successfully carried out two other scams in the city. The seized items included 12 bunches of bananas and 10 branches of betel nuts made of gold-colored metal, 4 motorcycles, 6 mobile phones, 1 gold-colored metal ring, and 18.3 million VND in cash.

During the investigation, Duc and Nhon confessed that they had committed two other fraud cases involving the misappropriation of property in Da Nang City and Gia Lai Province using the same methods.

This incident serves as a warning to the public, especially the elderly, to be extremely wary of offers and solicitations about "antiques" or rare items of unknown origin.

Text and photos: MINH NGUYEN

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-polit-xa-hoi/phap-luat-cuoc-song/ba-gio-truy-bat-nhom-lua-dao-ban-co-vat-gia-lien-tinh-157551.html