Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested the suspect who stole more than 40 drain hole covers on Thu Thiem 2 Bridge, which cost US$133 million to build and was opened to traffic last month.

A source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper confirmed on Friday that the municipal Department of Public Security, in coordination with police in Ward 15, Binh Thanh District, had apprehended Nguyen Van Thai, 52.

Thai is the suspect in the theft of over 40 drain hole covers on Thu Thiem Bridge 2.

As per the protocol, the Ward 15 police unit had collected Thai’s statement before transferring the suspect and the case file to the Department of Public Security for further probing.

Officers announced earlier the same day that they had initiated a manhunt for the suspect after having identified many of his features.

The man rode a red motorcycle and wore a blue shirt and black pants, they stated.

A representative from Thien An Company, the constructor of Thu Thiem 2 Bridge, previously confirmed that 44 drain hole covers on the structure had been stolen on May 4 and 5.

The bridge has a total of 108 drain hole covers, each measuring 23 centimeters in diameter and 2.5 centimeters thick.

Without these covers, the culverts can be easily blocked by garbage, which affects the drainage capacity and poses dangers for commuters.

Thien An Company later charged its employees with welding the remaining covers to prevent them from being taken away.

The firm temporarily replaced the lost covers with wooden ones while waiting for the new covers to be manufactured and installed, which takes about a month.

Spanning the Saigon River between District 1 and Thu Duc City, the cable-stayed Thu Thiem 2 Bridge stretches a total of 1.4 kilometers and has six lanes of traffic.

Costing VND3,082 billion ($133 million), the bridge was opened to traffic on April 28.

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