The location where the incident involving the Russian tourists occurred. — Photo Hoàng Hải

HÀ NỘI — Hàng Bông Ward’s police on Thursday said they have detained a taxi driver who is alleged to have stolen two smartphones from Russian tourists in Hà Nội on Thursday morning.

Posts regarding the case have popped up on social media, where the two Russian women – who arrived in Việt Nam two days ago – panicked after having their smart phones stolen. All their personal information and electronic documents were stored on their devices.

The author of the original post, a Vietnamese man named Hoàng Hải who was at the scene, said that he and some friends led the two tourists to a local police to report the case but, due to the language barrier, they were asked to return to their hotels and request assistance from the hotel staff to write the report.

According to initial information from the police, around 2:00am Thursday morning, the two hailed a taxi to Cấm Chỉ Street, Hàng Bông Ward, in the Old Quarter of the capital city. As their phones’ batteries were running low, the pair sked the driver to charge the phones in the car.

When the car arrived at Hàng Bông alley (Hàng Đông Ward), they asked the driver to wait as they went to exchange US$100 into Vietnamese currency, reportedly to pay for trip's fees.

But once they left the car, the driver abruptly sped off, along with the phones and their personal belongings.

Hoàn Kiếm District’s police said the driver is a 34-year-old man, Trần Quốc H., with registered residence in the northern province of Nam Định.

The driver has turned in the two tourists’ phones and the police have returned the phones to the owners.

The two women said this was an unfortunate incident, but the quick resolution of the case and the help they have received have showcased the friendliness of the people here.

Further investigations are underway. — VNS

The two Russian tourists said they are happy to receive their phones back during a small meeting with the Hoàn Kiếm District's police on Thursday afternoon, where the police hands over the phones they have recovered. — VNA/VNS Photo