HCMC – The Hanoi police have arrested two male suspects— Phung Huu Manh, 23, and Hoang Ngoc, 42, from Hanoi’s Dong Da District —who fired a gun and robbed over VND900 million at a Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) branch in the capital city.

Ngoc, who led the robbery, was arrested at dawn today, July 29, when he was hiding in the northern city of Haiphong. Manh was detained yesterday evening when he was hiding at his home in Dong Da District, said the police. As Ngoc had accumulated substantial debts due to business failure, he asked Manh to join him in robbing the BIDV Ngoc Khanh branch, which is located on Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Lang Ha Ward, Dong Da District, Ngoc confessed. At around 10 a.m. on July 27, the two suspects walked from Nguyen Hong Street to the BIDV branch. As they entered the bank, one of them took out what looked like a homemade gun and shot at the ceiling, shouting: “Everybody sit still. Hands up!” He then went behind each of the counters and threw money over them to the other suspect, who put the cash into a bag. Before leaving, the man that collected the cash left a black bag on the floor, with a warning that it contained explosives that could be triggered if anyone fought back. The two suspects then left the bank and used the gun to threaten a local resident. They stole a motorcycle and ran toward the streets of Nguyen Hong-Truc Khe-Nguyen Chi Thanh-Tran Duy Hung-Thang Long Boulevard.