Ngo Thi Bong, 52, Nguyen Phuoc Thu Ngan, 27, Tran Van Thao, 66, and Nguyen Van Tan A, 26, stole the phone worth VND30 million ($1,295) from the tourist at the Linh Ung Bai But Pagoda on Thursday, and were caught by officers while trying to escape, the Son Tra District police said.

Ngan said she had earlier stolen an iPhone 6 from a male tourist. The gang confessed to picking the pockets of many tourists in Son Tra District since June.

Da Nang is a popular tourist destination and the third most important city in Vietnam after Hanoi and HCMC.

Last year, Da Nang received 7.6 million tourists, 2.87 million of them foreigners, a 23.3 percent increase year-on-year.

South Korea, mainland China, Japan and Hong Kong are the four groups of foreign visitors with the highest growth rates in the central city.