Lương Văn Tú. — Photo thanhnien.vn

NGHỆ AN — A wanted fugitive has surrendered to the police in the hope of avoiding the coronavirus crisis.

Lương Văn Tú, 26, from Yên Na Commune in Nghệ An Province, was on the run for illegal drug trafficking.

In 2016, Tú and an accomplice were linked to a drug trafficking ring in Tương Dương District in the province.

The two suspects fled after the police raided their house, but only Tú managed to escape with a national arrest warrant hanging over him.

Police have since been searching for him and encouraging his family members to provide information that could lead to his arrest or surrender, but to no avail.

However, on February 19, Tú turned himself in at Tương Dương District’s police station after three years on the run.

The report said he had confessed to spending years in Hubei Province in China, where he worked at a garment factory with a new life until the deadly novel coronavirus (COVID-19) broke out.

Tú realised how serious the outbreak was in Hubei – the epicentre of the outbreak, and decided it would be better living in prison than dying in China.

Police are pressing criminal charges against him.

At least Tú now has access to food and medical services in prison in his home country. — VNS