Preventing robbery at gold shops

Neglect

According to the criminal activities, the gold shops they target are usually in deserted areas with few people passing by, and usually have only one person at the counter. These loopholes have been surveyed by criminals, who have a firm grasp of the rules before taking action.

On December 18, 2024, a necklace robbery occurred at MK gold shop in Tu Giang residential area, Tan Dan ward (Chi Linh).

Before committing the act, the subject proactively left the motorbike on the sidewalk but turned the vehicle outward to make it easier to escape.

At that time, it was already dark (after 6pm), if the seller had been alert enough to realize the above abnormality, he would have found a way to deal with it soon. However, the wife of the store owner, Ms. NTH, continued the transaction as usual, giving the subject 2 gold necklaces. After examining and negotiating, while Ms. NTH was busy writing the bill, the robber took the 2 necklaces and ran out, started the motorbike and drove away.

At this time, Ms. NTH chased after her and shouted for help, then her husband, Mr. PHH, ran out from behind the house. Fortunately, right after that, the people and the Tan Dan Ward Police promptly arrested the robber, Luong Van Tan, born on June 24, 2004, residing in Ban Na, Nam Nhoong Commune, Que Phong District (Nghe An Province).

More than 10 days later, a similar robbery occurred at the D.P. gold shop in Nhan Quyen commune (Binh Giang).

At that time, a person came by motorbike to buy gold and was given a bridal necklace by the shop owner, Ms. VTH. While examining it, the person took the gold and ran out, got on the motorbike and fled. Four days later, the robber, Tran Van Cuong, born in 1991, residing in Thung Linh village, Yen Hoa commune, Yen My district (Hung Yen province), was arrested.

According to the surveillance camera at this gold shop, when Tran Van Cuong entered the transaction, there were 3 men and a woman sitting at the table next to the counter but no one noticed anything unusual. Only when the robber ran away did these people chase after him.

According to experienced people, when seeing a young man wearing a baseball cap pulled down low over his face and a mask entering a gold shop, if he is alert, he will immediately raise questions and temporarily stop the transaction, which can prevent a robbery from happening.

According to Chi Linh City Police, warnings and reminders to gold and silver traders, credit institutions and banks have been carried out periodically by the unit. However, self-management and self-protection of the people are very necessary to prevent theft and robbery.

At gold shops, people need to fully equip alarm systems, security cameras, design appropriate counter systems so that criminals feel unsafe when committing crimes, do not display too much gold and silver to make criminals greedy and commit crimes... At the same time, when an incident occurs, it is necessary to immediately report it to the nearest police station.

Self-management and self-defense are key.

Whenever there are thefts at gold shops, it is always difficult to find the perpetrators. Some cases take a long time to find the perpetrators, and some cases are even fruitless. Therefore, self-protection and self-prevention are the most effective measures to ensure the safety of gold and silver trading.

Just a few days before the robbery of the D.P. gold shop in Nhan Quyen commune, also in Binh Giang district, there was a robbery at a gold and silver shop in My Cau village (Tan Hong commune), but so far there have been no results of the investigation.

It is worth mentioning that at the time of the break-in, the entire family of the gold shop owner, Mr. VHS, was out for Christmas, with no one watching. At around 9:30 p.m., when he returned, the shop owner discovered that the display case had been displaced and that about 400 million VND worth of gold, mostly gold, had been taken. Checking the camera, he discovered that the intruder had broken in from the attic. Instead of immediately reporting to the local police, the shop owner called the 113 Police, who then had to call back to Binh Giang for the commune police to arrive.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam, Hai Duong province branch, the whole province has 32 gold, silver, and jewelry production establishments licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam, mainly in Hai Duong city, Chi Linh city, Kinh Mon town, Binh Giang district... These are all large establishments, focusing on ensuring business safety.

There are also hundreds of small gold shops in villages, communes and towns throughout the province. These are locations targeted by criminals because there are almost no outside guards and security is quite lax.

As someone who has many years of experience in the gold and jewelry business in Hai Duong City, Mr. NTC said that it is difficult to predict what will happen when crimes occur at gold and jewelry stores, whether they are large stores, in crowded downtown areas or in deserted places.

However, shop owners need to equip themselves and their staff with skills to be able to recognize customer abnormalities.

The local police hotline number should be "memorized" so that the incident can be reported at any time. Instead of trying to confront the crime that could endanger one's life, the seller should calmly "buy time" to wait for another solution.

"In retail stores, if there are no conditions to hire professional security guards to watch over the store 24/7, the owner needs to assign a relative to act as the security guard, instead of being alone, which can lead to robbery and even endanger the owner's life," said Mr. NTC.