Vinh City police crack down on a major gambling ring, arresting 17 suspects.

Since the beginning of 2021, the Vinh City Police have discovered the appearance of agambling ringThe operation involved illegal lottery and betting schemes. The methods employed by this ring were sophisticated and cunning; the individuals primarily communicated with each other via phone and social media messaging apps like Zalo and Facebook to exchange betting slips. Investigators quickly determined this was a large-scale gambling ring, significantly impacting security and public order in Vinh City.

In response to this situation, the provincial police leadership directed the Vinh City Police and other professional units to mobilize capable and experienced officers and simultaneously implement various measures to dismantle this network.

Members of the gambling ring Led by Le Thi Linh, the group is mostly composed of women. Photo: Binh Nguyen

Various task forces were established to both monitor the movements of the suspects and gather evidence. During the investigation, the special task force encountered numerous difficulties because the suspects employed sophisticated tactics, frequently changing their phone numbers and communication methods to evade detection by law enforcement.

On August 9, 2021, having deemed the conditions suitable, the Provincial Police leadership directed the special task force to proceed with the investigation. Secret and surprise operations were carried out simultaneously by task forces to execute emergency arrest warrants and conduct emergency searches of the suspects' residences for the offenses of "Gambling" as stipulated in Article 321 of the Penal Code. The suspects were then escorted to the Vinh City Police headquarters for questioning.

Evidence seized in the case. Photo: Binh Nguyen

At the investigative agency, the suspects gave uncooperative and evasive statements in an attempt to deny their guilt. However, faced with clear documents and evidence presented by the special investigation team, the suspects finally confessed.

In this operation, the police arrested 17 individuals for gambling offenses, seized 25 mobile phones, 368 million VND in cash, and 8 bank cards; they also confiscated numerous important documents to prove the criminal activity.

Initially, the investigation team proved that the amount of money the suspects used for gambling in one day amounted to over 800 million VND; it is estimated that the total amount of money the suspects have used for gambling from the beginning of the year until now is approximately 23.5 billion VND.

Le Thi Linh was the ringleader of the gambling operation. Photo: Binh Nguyen

The ringleader of this gambling operation is Le Thi Linh (born in 1986), residing in Hamlet 4, Hung Chinh Commune, Vinh City, Nghe An Province. Linh established the gambling ring with the participation of 16 female and 1 male individual. To ensure the smooth and efficient operation of the ring, Linh created groups on social media platforms such as Zalo and Facebook. All information was exchanged between the participants online.