BẮC NINH — The provincial police, in collaboration with the Department of Criminal Police, recently apprehended two suspects allegedly responsible for the murder of a truck driver on February 14.

The two were attempting to steal the 34.3 tonnes of steel he was carrying.

On Sunday, Colonel Nguyễn Công Khôi, head of the Bắc Ninh criminal police (PC45), told the media that the two apprehended suspects are Nguyễn Minh Liên, 34, and Trương Việt Cường, 38, both hailing from Kim Thành District in the northern province of Hải Dương.

The truck driver was Chu Văn Phong, 41, from Ứng Hoà District of Hà Nội.

According to the initial testimony, Liêm was working as a tractor driver for some time and personally knew Phong. Phong made a deal with Liêm on the phone to sell a certain amount of the steel the former was ordered to transport from Hải Dương to Hà Nội on the fateful day.

When Liêm and Phong’s truck reached Hưng Yên Province, Liêm asked Phong to stop and let Cường hitch a ride.

Cường and Liêm then killed Phong, reportedly with a knife, and hid his body in the cabin.

The subjects told the police that later Liêm drove the truck around to find an interested buyer. Eventually, Liêm sold the entire 34 tonnes of steel to a company in Gia Lâm District of Hà Nội and received VNĐ30 million (US$1,300) in initial payment, following which they were arrested.

The provincial police announced their decision to initiate criminal proceedings against Liên and Cường on the grounds of murder.

At present, the 34.3 tonnes of steel have been confiscated by the Bắc Ninh provincial police for further investigation.

Earlier, last week, some people noticed that a truck was parked on the side of Road 280 in Lương Tài District, giving off a foul smelling odor and with no signs of activity for several days.

On inspection, the body of a man was found decomposing, tied up and covered with a blanket.

The GPS on the truck was reportedly deactivated and damaged, so the owner of the steel shop, where Phong worked, was unable to locate the truck.

Lương Tài District police immediately secured the scene, managed traffic on that section of the road and carried out the investigation.  — VNS