19-year-old arrested after allegedly stealing more than VND1 billion in gold and hiding in Mui Ne

Thạch Hưng, 19, allegedly slipped into a family’s bedroom in Vinh Long and stole gold worth more than VND1 billion before disappearing through several localities. Police eventually found him hiding in a hotel in Mui Ne, in Lâm Đồng province.

The theft came to light on the morning of Aug. 27, after the homeowner, identified as 55-year-old T.T.L., returned from taking her grandchild to school. She had locked the house and gate before leaving. When she entered the bedroom to take money to buy goods, she noticed that the wardrobe door stood slightly open.

Inside a coat hanging in the wardrobe, she had stored a 24-karat gold necklace weighing 40 chỉ, a 24-karat bracelet weighing 20 chỉ, several plain 24-karat rings weighing eight chỉ, an 18-karat bracelet weighing eight chỉ, and VND1 million in cash. The total value exceeded VND1 billion.

Vinh Long police treated the case as particularly serious because of the value of the property. The provincial criminal police division assigned 20 experienced investigators and worked with forensic officers and local police to secure the scene and identify the suspect. Investigators later determined that Hưng had sold some of the stolen property and left the area, using several methods and traveling through multiple locations to avoid detection.

Police arrested him at a hotel in Mui Ne at about 4 p.m. on Sept. 4 and brought him back to Vinh Long. Police said he confessed to the theft. During an urgent search of his accommodation, officers seized several pieces of evidence. According to his statement, he sold some of the gold for more than VND200 million, which he used to buy a necklace, bracelets and a scooter before fleeing through several provinces.