Plan to kidnap a tycoon in Ho Chi Minh City by a group of Chinese people

The actions of Ma Cai, Fan Guohui, Li Chuang (39-49 years old, Chinese nationality) and 4 Vietnamese people were clarified by Ho Chi Minh City Police on March 12. All 7 people were temporarily detained for illegal detention and extortion.

The victim is a Chinese tycoon living in District 7.

According to the investigation, in February, Ma Cai contacted Fan Guohui and Li Chuang, inviting them to Vietnam to "help collect debts for their boss". Cai sent a photo of the "target", a 38-year-old compatriot, to a private chat group so that they could easily identify and monitor him.

In Ho Chi Minh City, due to their lack of familiarity with the area, the Ma Cai group hired Le Thi Bich Xuyen (35 years old) as an interpreter, and recruited Huynh Van Toan (30 years old) and Nguyen Thanh Vu (31 years old) to help. These people were assigned to search for tycoons in District 7, provide necessary information, and were paid tens of millions of dong each time.

Early morning of February 28, receiving information that the "prey" was having dinner in District 7, the group decided to take action. Li Chuang drove a motorbike carrying Ma Cai to the location to keep watch, the remaining group got in a 4-seater car and arrived later.

When the Chinese tycoon opened the door of his private car and got out, the whole group rushed in and restrained him. The victim clung to the car door and resisted, but was threatened with a knife by one of the men, forced into a 4-seater car and taken away.

The car sped towards Long An province, the commander Mai Cai followed on a motorbike. To erase his tracks, he drove the car around many routes, then stopped at an empty lot on Thanh Nien street, Xuan Thoi Thuong commune, Hoc Mon district.

The kidnappers beat him, used hammers, knives, etc. to threaten to kill him, forcing the businessman to transfer 10 million USDT (cryptocurrency, roughly equivalent to USD). The victim begged, saying that he could not have such a large amount of money, so the amount was reduced to 5 million USDT (equivalent to more than 125 billion VND).

The businessman called friends everywhere to ask for loans, transferring 600,000 USDT (more than 10 billion VND) to Mai Cai's group. They continued to threaten the victim, forcing him to transfer more money.

12 hours tracking, rescuing hostages

At 6:00 a.m. on February 28, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department's Criminal Police Department received a report from the victim's family. Determining the seriousness of the incident, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department's Board of Directors directed many forces to coordinate with Department 6 - Criminal Police Department and other professional departments of the Ministry of Public Security to arrest the hostage with the requirement of ensuring the safety of the hostage's life.

Analyzing the scattered information and following the traces left by the kidnappers, a few hours later the police determined the location where the victim was being held. Many working groups were mobilized to the land in Hoc Mon district.

The place where the victim was being held was far from residential areas, with many canals and bushes interwoven, so the task force had to come up with many detailed operational plans. "The requirement was to ensure secrecy and surprise, capture the entire criminal group, and keep the victim absolutely safe," said an officer involved in solving the case.

Dozens of scouts followed the trails, dived into the ditches, and gradually approached the inside from many different directions. Outside, many policemen were lying in ambush at the forks and edges of the forest to surround the kidnappers' escape route.

As they approached the target, police found the victim being guarded by two men armed with hammers and knives. Several other people were nearby keeping watch.

In the moment the two men standing near the victim were distracted, many detectives rushed out from the bushes, knocked down, took away the knife, and rescued the hostage. Ma Cai and the remaining 5 people ran away, jumped into the canal, and hid in the bushes, but were all arrested. In addition to arresting the 7 suspects, the police also recovered the victim's property.

With the achievement of solving the case within only 12 hours, the participating force was commended by the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and People's Committee.

Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc said that the achievements of the police force have contributed to bringing peace to the people, enhancing the position and role of the sector in the eyes of international friends. Many cases and incidents were quickly discovered, creating people's trust in the police force.