ĐÀ NẴNG — The central city of Đà Nẵng’s criminal police arrested an armed robber 30 hours after he broke into a mobile phone shop in Liên Chiểu District on January 13.

Director of the city’s public security department major general Vũ Xuân Viên spoke at a press conference on January 14, saying it was the most serious criminal case in the city for some time.

He said a police team had been sent to seize Ngô Hữu Quỳnh, 29, in Quảng Nam Province’s Núi Thành District – 90km south of Đà Nẵng – while he was playing games in an internet shop.

Viên said the team had started trailing the robber just seven hours after the theft thanks to a security camera system.

According to a report from the department, Quỳnh used a fake gun and mine to rob a Viettel shop on Nguyễn Lương Bằng Street, 6km from the city’s downtown. He threatened an assistant before taking a bag of money containing VNĐ40 million (US$1,800).

The police said the robber was addicted to internet gaming and was in debt. He carried out the robbery to pay off lenders and online game charges. The crime is under further investigation.

Also on January 14, the police and market watch seized 660 imported bottles of brandy that were being transported from Quảng Trị Province to HCM City.

The truck driver did not have any papers or invoices for the brandy, which was estimated to be worth nearly VNĐ1 billion ($44,000).

At the press conference, Major General Viên also said investigative police have not yet determined what toxin killed a mother and her three-year-old son at a hotel four months ago.

Of a group of 20 visitors from Nghệ An travelling to Đà Nẵng and Hội An for a vacation, a three-member family was found poisoned.

The husband was saved following treatment at a hospital, but his wife and his son soon died. All other members of the tourist group were healthy.

Viên said many samples had been sent in for forensic tests, but scientists have not found exactly what kind of toxin was responsible.

Police said they suspected a toxic agent that had been used during insect spraying at the hotel killed the mother and son. Investigations are ongoing. — VNS