Rescue of 11 Nghe An gold miners who were detained and beaten by the landowner for escaping

Speaking to Nghe An Newspaper reporters on March 17, Mr. Luong Van Vinh - Head of Keng Du Commune Police (Ky Son District), said that the locality had just received 3 gold miners returned by Quang Nam Provincial Police. These were 3 of 11 people who were detained and beaten by the gold mine owner for escaping.

However, after being returned to their hometown, 8 of them did not return home but got off the bus along the way to find other jobs. All of them were Khmu youths from Keng Du commune.

Thanh My 1 gold mine is one of the largest illegal gold mines in Quang Nam. Photo: Tien Hung

A few days ago, they were given money by the Thanh My 1 gold mine to go to Quang Nam to make gold. This gold mine is one of the largest illegal mines in Quang Nam, operating for decades. There are usually hundreds of "gold thieves" working day and night in the mine, most of whom come from Nghe An. Because the gold mine is located deep inside the Thanh River Nature Reserve, the raid was very difficult. Nearly a year ago, Nghe An Newspaper published a series of articles reflecting on this situation after infiltrating illegal gold mines.

The police burned down all the camps at Thanh My 1 gold mine during a raid. But just a few days later, when the police withdrew, the gold mine resumed its bustling activities again. Photo: Tien Hung

According to the gold miners, when they arrived at the site and witnessed the old tunnels, fearing that they would collapse like a series of other accidents, the 11 people discussed running away.

While crossing the forest, they were captured by a group of gold guards led by a man named Tuan (37 years old), and taken to the owner's house in Thanh My town for detention. The group of gold guards beat 5 people who resisted, and at the same time kept the victims' money and phones, preventing them from contacting the outside. They also set a condition that if any of them wanted to return to their hometown and not return to the gold mine, they had to contact their families and bring money to ransom them before they could be released.

A corner of the illegal gold mine in Thanh My 1. Photo: Tien Hung

Receiving information from people living nearby, Nam Giang District Police raided the house to rescue the gold miners.

The investigation agency is continuing to consolidate the case file to initiate criminal proceedings and prosecute this group of gold smugglers.