Under the guise of businessmen, how does the couple leading the 'huge' drug ring operate?

Establish a project

End of June 2020,Nghia Dan District Policediscovered a group of subjects with many suspicious signs of drug-related criminal activities in the area. Going deeper into the verification, Nghia Dan District Police determined that the above group of suspects were part of a ring of illegal buying, selling and transporting of drugs.drugin large quantities from the border district of Que Phong (Nghe An) to the southern provinces for consumption. A special project was established to fight and clarify.

After a period of active verification and understanding of the local situation, the authorities identified the subjects involved in this ring as: Nguyen Thi Huong (born in 1976), residing in Bao Thanh commune (Yen Thanh); Nguyen Van Han (born in 1979) and Nguyen Ba Thuy (born in 1983), both residing in Lien Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). In which, Nguyen Thi Huong and Nguyen Van Han are husband and wife.

Because the initial information was unclear, it took a long time for the authorities to determine the identities of the subjects. On the other hand, the subjects were often absent from the locality. Some subjects even had very complicated travel itineraries, frequently traveling to many different provinces and cities, sometimes in Ho Chi Minh City, sometimes in Hanoi... Even when returning to Nghe An, the subjects did not stay at home but moved to many places. Therefore, the police force encountered many difficulties in verifying and grasping the movements of the subjects.

Means of the target group. Photo:TRong Tuan - Vuong Linh

In addition, Nguyen Van Han is also the owner of a local private enterprise. Under the perfect cover of a successful businessman, Han is always an honest businessman, operating in the construction sector in many areas of Nghe An province. Therefore, it is not easy for detectives to approach and grasp his information and operating rules.

On August 31, Nghia Dan District Police identified that the three subjects would move from Yen Thanh District to Quy Chau and Que Phong Districts to conduct drug transactions and transport drugs for consumption. The task force quickly dispatched working groups to focus on monitoring and closely following the subjects.

However, in order to distract attention and deceive the authorities, the group of subjects was very cunning in moving by many means of transport. These three subjects did not travel together but divided into small groups to move. Nguyen Thi Huong and Nguyen Van Han traveled by a red Mitsubishi Triton car with license plate 37C.262.38, while Nguyen Ba Thuy traveled by a gray-black motorbike, YAMAHA SIRIUS, with license plate 37D1.143.48. The task force arranged the forces reasonably, sent scouts to grasp the movements of the subjects in the network, and at the same time prepared all plans to solve the case when the opportunity arose.

Solve the case

By the afternoon of the same day, the detectives determined that all three subjects had moved to Quy Chau district and stayed at a motel in Chau Binh commune. In the early morning of September 1, through many reliable sources, the detectives had obtained information that the subjects would conduct transactions with Lao subjects in the border area of ​​Que Phong district and then transport the "goods" to the southern provinces. Determining that this was an opportunity to fight against this group of subjects, the Task Force decided to crack the case.

At around 2am on September 1st, when the subjects left the motel and went to the meeting place to make the transaction. The task force quickly sent a task force to continue following closely, and at the same time sent many other task forces to set up checkpoints at intersections, ready to handle any situation that may arise.

Subjects Nguyen Thi Huong, Nguyen Van Han and Nguyen Ba Thuy (photo below) with the seized drugs. Photo:Trong Tuan - Vuong Linh

At about 7:00 a.m. the same day, the detectives discovered a black-gray Sirius motorbike driven by Thuy moving on the road.Highway 48section through Tam Hop commune (Quy Hop). Determining that the time was ripe, Nghia Dan district police decided to crack the case. When seeing the police vehicle approaching, Thuy tried to resist, in order to escape, however, the pre-arranged reconnaissance teams quickly controlled and arrested the subject, confiscating 2 kg of ketamine, 2 kg of crystal meth and 2 heroine cakes contained in a black plastic bag, inside a backpack along with many other exhibits...

Realizing that the case had been exposed and that their accomplices had been arrested, Nguyen Thi Huong and Nguyen Van Han quickly tried to escape. However, detectives from Nghia Dan District Police chased and arrested Huong and Han while they were on the run.

With the experience of traders who have made transactions many times, this group of subjects is very cautious when conducting "goods" transactions. During the transaction with the Lao subjects on the other side of the border, the subjects do not meet directly but only contact by phone and use slang in communication. When agreeing on the price and money, the subjects buying the "goods" will choose a deserted location in the mountainous area near the border and leave the money there. The seller on the other side will send someone to check the money, when they have enough money, they will choose another location to return the "goods" to the buyer.

The "task" of receiving money and delivering the "goods" was performed by the Laotian subjects hired by the Mong subjects in the border area. Neither the owner nor the buyer directly delivered and received the goods as usual. Therefore, the Task Force encountered many difficulties in identifying the subjects involved and the transaction locations in the network - Major Le Xuan Dong, Captain of the Criminal, Economic, and Drug Team, Nghia Dan District Police added.

At the investigation agency, all three subjects were initially very stubborn, giving devious statements in an attempt to deny their crimes. However, faced with undeniable evidence, the subjects admitted their crimes. Accordingly, Huong and her husband had successfully carried out many similar cases before. In the chain, Huong would be the one who directly contacted the subjects who bought the goods in the South. Once the amount of "goods" that the customer needed to get was determined, Huong would proactively contact the Lao subjects to make the transaction, choose the location to pay and receive the goods.

Nguyen Ba Thuy has two previous convictions for theft (2019) and receiving property obtained through crime (2016). Thuy is usually in Ho Chi Minh City. When there are customers who want to buy "goods", Huong will hire Thuy to go to Nghe An and then go directly with Huong and Han to the border area to get the "goods". Huong and her husband will monitor from a distance, while Thuy will hold the money and give it to the subjects and carry the "goods" to the South. If the goods are successfully delivered to the subjects in the South, the profits will be shared among the subjects according to the agreed ratio.

On September 1, 2020, during the process of transporting goods from the border area, Huong and her husband went by car first to scout the way and monitor the situation. If there was an unexpected situation or the authorities checked, they would notify Thuy to go by motorbike behind to take a shortcut or disperse the "goods" and escape.

Currently, the authorities are continuing to expand the investigation, clarifying the actions of other related subjects to handle them according to the provisions of law.