FBI Offers $1M Reward for Vietnamese Fugitive on Most Wanted List

U.S. authorities seek global help to capture suspect tied to brutal double murder in Philadelphia

U.S. federal authorities have escalated the hunt for a Vietnamese-born fugitive accused of participating in a brutal double murder, offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his capture. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced on March 11 that Trung Duc Lu has been added to its Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, one of the agency’s most prominent global alerts.

Investigators say Lu, born in 1980, immigrated to the United States as a teenager and previously lived in Queens, New York. He is suspected of ties to the Vietnamese-American gang known as Born to Kill (BTK), also referred to as the Canal Boys, a group historically associated with organized criminal activity within diaspora communities.

According to prosecutors, Lu is accused of participating in the 2014 kidnapping, torture, and murder of two Vietnamese brothers—Vu Huynh, 31, and Viet Huynh, 28—in Philadelphia. Authorities allege the victims were targeted over unpaid debts connected to illegal gambling and marijuana trafficking. Their bodies were later discovered in the Schuylkill River, bound with zip ties and weighed down to sink beneath the water.

At a press conference announcing the reward increase, federal prosecutor David Metcalf confirmed that several accomplices in the case have already been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted. Former crime scene investigator John Taggert described the perpetrators as unusually brutal, noting that the level of violence exceeded what forensic investigators typically encounter.

Lu was indicted in absentia in 2019, and an arrest warrant has remained active since then. Authorities believe he fled the United States and may currently be outside the country, with his last confirmed location reportedly in Vietnam. Investigators say he may also use multiple aliases, including Phong Le, Brendan Lu, and Calvin Lu.

The suspect is described as bilingual in English and Vietnamese and previously worked as a nail technician. Law enforcement officials also noted distinctive tattoos, including a dragon and the words “Asian Pride” across his back, as well as a dragon-and-tiger design on his arm.

The FBI is urging anyone with information about Lu’s whereabouts to contact federal authorities or the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. The case underscores the increasingly global nature of law enforcement cooperation as agencies track fugitives who move across borders.

For international readers, the case highlights how diaspora-linked criminal investigations often extend beyond national boundaries, requiring coordination between U.S. federal authorities and foreign governments—a reminder that in an interconnected world, even decade-old crimes can remain active global pursuits.

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Source: Vietnam Insider