Vietnamese police have detained a man for snatching handbags from many foreign tourists in Da Nang since the beginning of the year.

The city's police on Friday said they have arrested Truong Van Minh, a local man, on charges of “property robbery by snatching” pursuant to Article 136 of the Penal Code.

Mr Minh’s arrest is the result of an investigation opened by local police after receiving many reports from foreign tourists saying they have been victims of street snatching in Hai Chau and Thanh Khe Districts since early this year.

Minh is jobless but he was often smartly dressed and lied that he was an overseas Vietnamese who had just returned to Viet Nam, police said.

Through many interrogations, investigators concluded that  Mr Minh was the culprit of the reported snatching cases.

One of Mr Minh’s victim is Mimi Pham, a Vietnamese-American woman, who lost a handbag containing iPhone 6 Plus, two ATM cards and more than VND1 million (US$47) in cash.

Another victim is Nagisa Tamura, of Japanese nationality, from whom Mr Minh snatched a handbag containing a passport, a Visa card, VND100,000 ($4.7) and JPY10,000 ($85).

Police are further investigating to identify all Mr Minh’s victims, as well as the properties he appropriated from them.