A police officer in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta has been indicted for stealing a gun from his superior and selling the firearm online to make some extra money.

Nguyen Mau Quoc Cuong, 24, who works at a ward-level police station in Cai Rang District, Can Tho City, was charged with “appropriating and trading military weapons,” the district’s prosecutors said in the indictment.

Ho Nhat An Khuong, a 25-year-old resident in Ben Tre Province, and Le Dien Khac Huy, 33, who resides in Tien Giang Province, were also indicted for a similar offense.

According to the indictment, Cuong was in charge of guarding the police headquarters of Tan Phu Ward on the night of December 21, 2018.

As he was the only one at the station that night, Cuong sneaked into the office of the deputy police chief and stole his CZ83 pistol, along with a cartridge containing five bullets, which was kept in a cabinet.

Cuong then put the weapon on sale on Facebook the following day.

Khuong contacted Cuong and agreed to buy the gun at VND20 million (US$860). The transaction was carried out in Khuong’s hometown in Ben Tre.

Khuong then resold the pistol for VND65 million ($2,795) to a man in Hanoi, with Huy acting as an intermediary.

The middleman was paid VND5 million ($215) after the trade was complete.

The gun was discovered by police in Quang Ninh Province, about 187 kilometers east of Hanoi, on March 9, 2019, but no bullet was found.

An investigation was initiated and officers were able to trace the origin of the weapon.

The pistol was then transferred to the Can Tho police department, which later launched an official probe into the case.   

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