HCMC: A court in HCMC sentenced a Colombian man to 12 years in jail on Wednesday for stealing $47,000 from five-star Caravelle Hotel in District 1.
Martinez Lopez Samir, 36, charged with “theft,” will be deported from Vietnam after completing his sentence, the court ruled.
Fellow countryman Diaz Velasquez Carlos Jeronimo, who was involved in the theft, is currently at large.
In January 2019, Martinez and Diaz entered Vietnam on tourist visas. Two days later, they visited an e-gaming club at Caravelle.
Discovering the gaming machine’s cash box was unlocked, they decided on the heist.
Martinez subsequently asked a nearby waiter for a cup of coffee, leaving the cash box unguarded. Taking advantage of the situation, the duo retrieved over $47,000 from inside and escaped the hotel.
They escaped into Cambodia after that via Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh Province, which borders HCMC.
Last February, the wanted Martinez was arrested by HCMC police. VNEXPRESS
In January, Martinez Lopez Samir was sent to Cambodian Immigration after some sort of scam in a casino and deported (obviously back to Vietman, where the police were waiting for him).
