VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City police have arrested six gangs of container thieves, totaling 51 people, who made a series of thefts at the city’s ports and warehouses, worth $1.3 million.

HCM City: Thieves target transport containers



 
According to the police, they have clarified 25 cases conducted by these gangs, with a total value of VND27 billion ($1.3 million). The police have recovered VND4 billion ($200,000).

In recent years the police of southern provinces like Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Tay Ninh and Dong Nai have often reported by import-export and shipping companies about theft of cargos during the transportation process from ports to warehouses and vice versa.

In late 2011, HCM City police worked out a plan to fight this type of crime.

According to the investigation, gangs of container thieves usually have from 4 to 20 members. Initially, they approach container truck drivers to entice them to join their gangs. These gangs also plant their agents in transport firms, using counterfeit driver licenses.

During the transportation process, mainly at night, they steal goods from container trucks without touching the lead seals.

The thieves often use electric drills and hammers to flip the hinge of containers. They also use cutters to cut a piece of container, which enable one to get in to take goods. After that they use iron glue and paint of the same color to cover the cut to avoid detection.

Many batches of goods worth hundreds of thousands of USD were stolen this way.

According to the police, the biggest gang includes 18 members, led by Tran Tri Trung, 22, from Cho Moi district, An Giang province. This gang made 13 cases, stealing goods worth nearly VND8 billion ($400,000) of companies in Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh.

The investigation is still underway.

Dam De