A man has been taken into police custody as he is suspected of robbing a bank in northern Vietnam last week, police confirmed on Monday.

Preliminary evidence so far collected suffices to ascertain that Nguyen Duc Minh, living in Bac Giang Province, is the suspect who carried out the robbery at a local Agribank branch on the afternoon of January 26, according to police officers.

On that day Minh, 35, suddenly appeared at the bank with a mask, he threatened the staff with a so-called gun while shouting that the nylon bag he was holding contained explosives.

He successfully intimidated the employees into handing him an enormous amount of cash, which he said amounted to VND1.1 billion (US$44,000).

Police found a plastic gun, identified as the putative weapon the bank robber utilized, which he threw into a pond after the heist.

Authorities also confiscated banknotes worth VND560 million ($24,600) that Minh buried in the garden of his wife’s parents in Lang Giang District, Bac Giang, together with the cash of VND320 million (US$14,000) hoarded in a car.

He admitted his crime, saying he robbed the bank due to being burdened with debt. 

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