South Korean police said they arrested a suspect who fled to Vietnam last month after committing a credit union heist in South Korea’s central city of Daejeon.

The man was put under emergency detention at a casino in Da Nang City, central Vietnam at 4:55 pm on Sunday, following coordination between South Korean police, Interpol, and Vietnamese authorities, Yonhap News Agency reported the same day.

The arrest was made based on a tip-off from a South Korean residing in Da Nang.

The man is suspected of robbing a branch of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea in Daejeon on August 18, when he rushed to the branch, discharging a fire extinguisher and threatening the staff with a pre-prepared weapon.

After stealing 39 million won (US$29,280) in cash, the suspect escaped on a stolen motorcycle, local police said.

It took the man only six minutes to complete the bold robbery, according to Seoul Broadcasting System.

Police officers identified the suspect through CCTV footage and witness testimonies, and later confirmed he departed for Vietnam on a flight the same day using a fake passport and a forged COVID-19 test certificate.

After the suspect’s escape, South Korean police closely coordinated with Interpol and Vietnamese authorities to apprehend him.

The man's family and friends told police that he got into gambling debts, which drove him to commit the heist.

“He seems to have spent all the money he stole," Yonhap quoted a South Korean police official as saying.

"We are discussing [with local authorities] the process to bring the suspect back to Korea to serve the investigation.”

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