Pous Moshtaghhossein, 50, was detained by District 1 police facing theft charges.
According to the police report, the incident occurred on Sept. 27 when Russian tourist Dmitry Strizhakov, 39, and his wife were shopping on Hai Ba Trung Street. Moshtaghhossein approached the couple and engaged them in friendly conversation.
During the encounter, Moshtaghhossein pulled out some U.S. dollar bills from his wallet and began discussing the differences between old and new bills. Claiming he could not distinguish between them, he expressed curiosity about Russian rubles.
Pous Moshtaghhossein (R) reproduces the scene of his theft of cash from a Russian man's wallet in HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Vy |
Strizhakov then took out a U.S. dollar bill and a stack of Russian rubles to show Moshtaghhossein. While keeping the conversation going, Moshtaghhossein subtly directed his fingers towards Strizhakov's wallet and discreetly took several bills from it.
After Moshtaghhossein walked away, Strizhakov checked his wallet and discovered that 25 $100 bills, three €100 bills and one €50 bill were missing. He then reported the theft to the police.
Authorities tracked down Moshtaghhossein, who was renting an apartment in Thu Duc City, and arrested him.