Warning about foreigners committing crimes in Nghe An

Many types of crime

In early September 2019, Vinh City Police received information from people about their bank accounts being withdrawn, while they did not have any transactions and their ATM cards were still in their possession. Faced with this situation, the leaders of Vinh City Police directed the General Investigation Team to preside over and coordinate with professional units to establish a Project coded T919 to focus on investigating, verifying, handling and eliminating this group of subjects.

After verification, it was determined that the group including Yang Chang Cai (born in 1986), Denh Cong Cong (born in 1990) and Lian Yu (born in 1985), all residing in Jiangxi province, China, had entered Vietnam to commit the crime, so the authorities organized surveillance.

3 subjects Yang Chang Cai (born 1986), Denh Cong Cong (born 1990) and Lian Yu (born 1985). Photo: Duc Vu

On September 11, the Special Task Force chaired by Vinh City Police, in coordination with the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Ministry of Public Security), the Foreign Security Department and the Criminal Police Department of Nghe An Province Police, VietinBank conducted an administrative inspection of the above group of subjects while they were staying at a hotel on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Vinh City, successfully breaking Project T919, arresting 3 Chinese subjects who used computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic devices to commit property appropriation.

Through inspection, the working group discovered and confiscated from the subjects 333 bank cards suspected to be fake, of which 319 cards had been scanned with information about the account owner, 22 cards had money withdrawn from the account with an amount of nearly 300,000,000 VND and 14 blank cards, 3 electronic devices, 2 laptops... The initial investigation determined that this group of subjects had successfully installed electronic devices into the ATM of VietinBank in Hung Dung ward twice, stealing account information to serve the purpose of counterfeiting bank cards to appropriate property in Vinh city.

Specifically, Denh Cong Cong and Lian Yu used electronic devices and attached them to ATMs to steal customers' passwords and personal account information, then transferred the data to Yang Chang Cai to process the initial information. After that, Yang Chang Cai sent the data to China for a subject named Ly Van to decode and transfer the information back to Yang Chang Cai and his accomplices to create fake ATM cards to withdraw money from cardholders.

The project to seize 700 kg of crystal meth is the largest drug seizure ever by Nghe An Police. Photo PX03

Previously, through intelligence reports, Nghe An Police discovered a transnational drug trafficking ring run by foreigners in collusion with some Nghe An people. These people chose Nghe An as a transit point and then transported the drugs to a third country for consumption.

In March 2019, Nghe An Provincial Police established a special project, assigned to the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department, coordinated with Quynh Luu District Police to fight and destroy. On April 17, the special project team planned to surround and arrest this group of subjects. When seeing the police, this group of subjects threw 23 bags of crystal meth on the roadside at the salt field in Quynh Thuan commune, Quynh Luu district and then ran away, but 3 subjects were arrested later.

Conducting an extended investigation, at 3:00 p.m. the same day, the Task Force searched the warehouse of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam (born in 1977, residing in Hamlet 1, Quynh Hong Commune, Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province) and seized 50 loudspeakers, 50 cardboard bags and 1 scale. These were the items the subjects used to hide drugs. The total amount of drugs seized up to this point is about 700 kg. In addition to the 3 people who have been arrested, there are 2 foreigners on the run.

Difficulties and shortcomings

It can be said that the above cases are just typical cases that have been cracked down by Nghe An Police in recent times. This shows that crimes committed by foreigners in general are very complicated, causing significant impacts on security, social order and safety. Meanwhile, a difficult reality is that the number of foreigners coming to Vietnam is currently very large. However, we have only managed and grasped the number of entries, while the management of residence and activities of foreigners in Vietnam is still lacking.

Furthermore, the process of detecting and arresting foreign criminals is still difficult. When verifying and checking information about foreigners, the results and information obtained are still limited; there is a lack of officers to do translation work, especially when arrested, the subject does not confess or speaks in the native language, causing many difficulties for the authorities.

Vinh City Police Department organized a crime scene reenactment of the case of 3 Chinese subjects making fake ATM cards. Photo: Duc Vu

Lieutenant Colonel Ha Huy Duc - Investigator, Captain of the Police Team for Prevention and Control of High-Tech Crimes and Foreign Elements, of the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police, said: For example, the case involving 3 Chinese people who used computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic means to commit property appropriation was busted on September 11. During the investigation, the authorities encountered many difficulties, first of all, the language barrier, so every time they investigated, they had to hire an interpreter. Not to mention, it was very difficult to verify the background of the accused from the Chinese side, although they had gone through diplomatic channels, there was no response.

In addition, according to another investigator of the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police, through the process of monitoring, it is also very difficult to catch foreign criminals. Currently, the unit is verifying and investigating the case of a man of "African origin" who defrauded and appropriated 2.2 billion VND from Ms. LTH (born in 1962, residing in a mountainous district of Nghe An province) online. However, the investigation is very difficult because the subject used a fake account, the withdrawal took place abroad, along with using many phone numbers and constantly moving...

Similarly, in the case of 700 kg of crystal meth, 3 Nghe An people have been temporarily detained for trial. The police have issued an international arrest warrant for 2 Taiwanese people, and are currently coordinating with the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Taiwanese Police (China) to continue to arrest them through Interpol channels, but have yet to get results.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Tran Dinh Vinh - Deputy Head of the Drug Crime Investigation Department of Nghe An Provincial Police: Determining that Nghe An is very close to the "Golden Triangle" - the major drug capital, plus the complicated drug situation in the area, the reality of the fight against drug crimes on the border lines in recent years has all had foreign elements, related to national border sovereignty, so the process of fighting and preventing requires coordination between forces on both sides of the border.

However, in addition to most countries with good cooperation, it is very difficult for areas that do not have a Mutual Legal Assistance Agreement in extradition of criminals with Vietnam. In reality, drug crimes with foreign elements are increasingly sophisticated in their methods, often controlled through intermediaries, taking advantage of reputable shipping companies to bring goods through border gates...

Quynh Thuan Border Guard Station officers and police forces are checking the amount of crystal meth seized. Photo courtesy of NHT

It can be seen that the situation of foreigners entering Vietnam in general, and Nghe An in particular, to commit crimes is an alarming issue. It is not just a small group of people, but the subjects have organized on a large scale, with increasingly sophisticated, daring and reckless methods of appropriation.

To limit this situation, along with the solutions that have been proposed by the authorities, focusing on improving the effectiveness of immigration management; strengthening coordination and support between countries in the pursuit of transnational criminals. Close coordination between the Police, Customs, Border Guard, Coast Guard forces in inspecting and controlling border areas, border gates and at sea to prevent, combat and effectively handle foreigners who commit crimes. In addition, strictly handle the acts and tricks of Vietnamese people who collude, conceal and assist foreigners in violating the law...

The entire grassroots political system needs to promote its role in detecting and informing the authorities of suspicious signs and violations of the law by foreigners in the area. Mobilize the masses to raise their vigilance and actively participate in preventing, detecting, and fighting against crimes.