Wang Hua (fourth from left, white T-shirt) is escorted to Lạng Sơn and handed over to Chinese authorities. — Photo cand.com.vn

LẠNG SƠN — A Chinese fugitive who had been hiding in the central city of Đà Nẵng was arrested by Vietnamese police and handed over to China last week, authorities said on Monday.

Wang Hua, 54, had been wanted by Chinese authorities on international charges and was believed to have slipped into Việt Nam to avoid capture. He was transferred to Chinese officials on Saturday at the Hữu Nghị Border Gate in the northern province of Lạng Sơn.

His arrest came after Việt Nam's Ministry of Public Security reached out to Đà Nẵng's police for assistance in tracking him down. Investigators assembled a team and combed through residency records and immigration data, focusing on parts of the city popular with foreign nationals.

The trail led them to an apartment in Ngũ Hành Sơn Ward, where a Chinese man caught their attention. After several days of building their case, investigators confirmed on April 8 that they had their man. The arrest went smoothly, with no injuries reported.

Back at the station, Wang Hua handed over his passport and acknowledged that everything on it matched the warrant Chinese authorities had issued for him. Three days later, Đà Nẵng's police drove him north to the border, where he was transferred to Chinese custody. — VNS