Vietnamese police have detained two men for snatching a handbag, a laptop, and other belongings from a Chinese national in August.

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After weeks of investigation, police in Hanoi on Tuesday arrested Nguyen Van Diu, 30, and Ngo Doan Vy, 25, both local residents, for investigation of their offence committed on August 25, the city’s criminal police department said.

The victim in the case is 33-year-old Tang Min, a Chinese woman who lives in the Trung Hoa Urban Area, Cau Giay District, and works for Huawei, a Chinese company located in the district.

At 9 pm that day, while Min was crossing a street in the district with a bag in her hand, Diu and Vy approached on a motorbike, and one of them snatched the bag from her.

The thieves escaped and Min reported the case to police, saying the lost bag contained a Lenovo laptop, two cell phones, and some papers.

The police launched an investigation and discovered Diu when he sold one of the cell phones.

After their arrest, the two men said they had sold the laptop for VND6.1 million (US$287), adding that Diu had kept one cell phone, while Vy had the other.

The men also confessed that they had committed two similar crimes together in Hanoi in July.

Meanwhile, Diu told police that he had carried out two robberies on his own.

Police are trying to identify the previous victims of the two men. In February, Hanoi police arrested four thieves from a gang that targeted foreigners.

According to the case file, these four men searched streets in the capital’s downtown area on February 5 to look for “prey.” They then saw Natthachat Sanyaphan, a Thai man, sitting beside his wife in front of a house on Nguyen Huu Huan Street, Ly Thai To Ward, Hoan Kiem District. Next to the couple was a bag containing two cameras, five lenses, and several accessories. The thieves approached the couple, and three of them began talking and dancing to draw their attention. Meanwhile, the other men approached the couple from behind and grabbed the camera bag. They later sold the stolen items at a local pawnshop for VND18.5 million (US$870).

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