Two suspects have been charged and are being sought.

Regarding the ring that "magically" transformed nearly 4,000 stolen vehicles into brand-new cars in Ho Chi Minh City, on January 24th, the Office of the Criminal Investigation Agency (PC01) of the Ho Chi Minh City Police announced that they have initiated legal proceedings and issued arrest warrants for Nguyen Huu Oai (40 years old) and Nguyen Huu Nhu (34 years old) - both residing in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City - to investigate the crime of Fraudulent Appropriation of Property.

PC01 announces that any citizen has the right to apprehend and escort the two wanted individuals to the nearest police station, People's Procuracy, or People's Committee. After apprehending and receiving the two wanted individuals, they must immediately report to the Ho Chi Minh City Police Investigation Agency, located at 268 Tran Hung Dao Street, Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, District 1, Investigator Do Minh Quang, Phone number: 0938.750.388.

Nguyen Huu Oai (left) and Nguyen Huu Nhu. (Photo provided by the Police)

On December 15, 2023, VTC News reported that the Ho Chi Minh City Police Investigation Agency had initiated a criminal case, indicted and detained Bui Van Tan (born in 1983, residing in Xuan Thoi Thuong commune, Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City) and 8 accomplices for investigation into the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.

Through the process of registering and issuing motorcycle license plates as part of the functions of the district-level police, the Ho Chi Minh City Police, together with the Task Force of Department C08 - Ministry of Public Security, discovered several files for first-time vehicle registration with many irregularities.

Upon inspection, signs of altered chassis and engine numbers were discovered, so the vehicle was temporarily seized for further examination.

Police determined that, since 2021, Bui Van Tan had colluded with Le Van Toi to purchase motorcycles of unknown origin and without registration papers from pawn shops in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces, or from classified ads on social media.

To legitimize the vehicles without proper documentation, Tan purchased factory quality inspection certificates for motorcycles at prices ranging from 500,000 to 1 million VND per certificate.

Afterward, Tan brought the motorcycles of unknown origin to Phat Dat repair shop (in Binh Chanh district), owned by Nguyen Huu Oai and Nguyen Huu Nhu.

Tan hired someone to grind and re-engrave the chassis and engine numbers to match the chassis and engine numbers on the factory quality inspection certificate of the vehicle he had previously purchased, for a fee of 1 million VND per vehicle.

In order to maximize the illicit profits, Bui Van Tan continued to instruct the technical staff of Tan Tien 1 and Tan Tien 2 stores, which he owned, to refurbish motorcycles into "used" or "new" vehicles to sell to customers, with the promise of registering the vehicles for them.

In addition, Tan instructed Nguyen Trung Thong to contact brokers to arrange motorcycle registration services.

Initial investigations indicate that from 2021 to 2023, Bui Van Tan sold 3,911 motorcycles to customers in many provinces and cities nationwide. In 2023 alone, he sold 1,549 motorcycles, earning approximately 15 billion VND in illicit profits.

The police are currently expanding their investigation to clarify signs of deceiving customers, harboring and consuming property obtained through crimes committed by others, and other violations in the entire car buying and selling operation; the role, nature, and extent of the violations of the individuals involved in order to strictly handle them according to the law.

At the same time, the authorities are clarifying the origin of more than 10,000 factory release forms and tracing the origin of the motorcycles that this group sold on the market in order to detect and thoroughly handle any violations.

Hoang Tho

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