Journey to eradicate cross-Vietnam crystal meth trafficking ring

(Baonghean.vn) - Project coded 516M was established when the Vinh City Police Department discovered a drug trafficking ring emerging from the North to the South, with Nghe An being the transit point to Ho Chi Minh City with a large quantity, extremely serious, with the participation of many prominent individuals in Vinh City.

Following the "black" footprints of the hidden person

More than 3 months ago, the Vinh City Police Department discovered a subject who wore large black glasses, spoke with a Northern accent, and was often present in Vinh City and Ha Tinh. When sitting in coffee shops, the subject often talked on the phone in a foreign language. This was a detail that made the detectives particularly interested and suspicious.

However, when the Vinh City Police's drug crime investigation detectives were discussing how to investigate and clarify the identity of this subject, the entire force had to focus their time on investigating the extremely brutal armed methamphetamine case that occurred in Vinh City. The stranger was temporarily suspended and during that time, he was also missing, especially after the methamphetamine case with hot weapons was broken up and caught red-handed.

During the peak period of crime suppression, through the work of grasping the situation and using synchronous professional measures, the Vinh City Police Department discovered a drug trafficking ring emerging from the North to the South, in which Nghe An was the transit area for crystal meth to Ho Chi Minh City.

The leaders of Vinh City Police had a "hot" meeting to hear all the above information. Considering that this is a trans-Vietnam methamphetamine trafficking ring, large in quantity, extremely serious, with the participation of key figures in Vinh City. The Vinh City Police Investigation Agency decided to establish a special project with code name 516M, headed by the Chief of Vinh City Police, the units participating in the project include: Drug Crime Investigation Police Team, Ha Huy Tap Ward Police and Hung Dung Ward Police to fight and solve the case.

During the time staying in the area, collecting information, using professional measures, the detectives were interested in 2 subjects with unusual business activities, suspected to be related to the drug trafficking line. Notably, Cao Duc Hung (born in 1970), residing in Tan Tien block, Hung Dung ward, Vinh city.

Learning more about this character, we know that after finishing school, Hung soon joined a group of young people who lived a rough life in society. During the day, they slept, at night they gathered to discuss illegal business and before long, Hung committed a series of violations of the law.

Provincial Police leaders commend Project Team 516M

Hung, 46 years old this year, has 3 criminal records, including 1 for robbery. In 2011, Hung finished serving his prison sentence and traveled everywhere. From then on, all of Hung's movements were "targeted" by detectives. As a person who had been in and out of prison many times, Hung was always on high alert every time he left the area to interact and do business with other subjects, making the investigation difficult.

Hung's close associate in "business" is Phan Van Tam (born in 1973), residing in Hamlet 2, Hung Chinh Commune, Vinh City. Tam is a gambling addict and has a previous conviction for gambling, so Hung and Tam have a close relationship. Once, both of them went all the way to border provinces such as Lang Son and Quang Ninh to party for a whole week before returning.

Suspecting that they were drug dealers, a reconnaissance team from the task force was assigned to be present in the border provinces to monitor the situation. In the border area of ​​Lang Son, using professional measures, the reconnaissance team discovered Hung and Tam sitting and confiding in two strangers, suspected of discussing drug dealing.

What the detectives paid special attention to was that, among the two subjects in Lang Son who were talking to the two people from Nghe An, one of them had the same characteristics as the character who had previously appeared in Vinh City, often communicating by phone in a foreign language. While the detectives were investigating to clarify the identity of the stranger, the two strangers had gone to China to do business.

However, with the collected documents, the detectives confirmed that the two strangers above were the link in the chain that specialized in supplying crystal meth to Cao Duc Hung and Phan Van Tam.

Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung, Deputy Director of Nghe An Provincial Police, Head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, directed the Special Task Force to coordinate with the A70 Department of the Ministry of Public Security and the Provincial Police's professional departments to investigate and clarify the case. In early April 2016, detectives received information that two subjects Cao Duc Hung and Phan Van Tam had boarded a passenger bus to the northern provinces. Confirming that Hung and Tam went to Lang Son to meet two strangers to buy crystal meth, the plan to solve the case was to catch the subjects red-handed while transporting drugs to Vinh City. The Special Task Force coordinated with the A70 Department of the Ministry of Public Security and professional departments such as PA69; PA71 of the Provincial Police to deploy a plan to intercept and catch the subjects red-handed.

Evidence of the case

On May 4, through comprehensive professional measures, the Task Force had sufficient grounds to determine that Hung and Tam had boarded a sleeper bus running from Lang Son to Vinh City. To prevent the recklessness of the subjects, especially Hung, who had 3 previous convictions, the Task Force decided to solve the case in Vinh City with the support of professional teams and the police of Ha Huy Tap Ward and Cua Nam Ward.

From 8:00 to 11:35 on May 4, 2016, all information about the journey of the two subjects Hung and Tam was continuously reported to the Task Force. At about 11:45 on the same day, using professional measures, the detectives determined that Tam and Hung had arrived in Cua Nam ward to drop off passengers. The Task Force coordinated with the working group of the A70 Department of the Ministry of Public Security and the PA69 and PA71 Departments to deploy a plan to break up the task force.

As soon as Hung and Tam got out of the car, they were immediately arrested by Lieutenant Colonel Cao Thanh Sam, the team leader, and drug crime detectives from Vinh City Police for illegal drug trafficking. The seized evidence was a package of crystal meth weighing more than 1 kg and some related evidence. Through the initial investigation, Hung and Tam were revealed to be cross-country drug traffickers, with Nghe An being the transit area for crystal meth to be brought to Ho Chi Minh City for consumption. Hung and Tam also stated that the crystal meth was purchased from a subject residing in Lang Son, but the specific identity is unknown.

Arrest of crystal meth supplier in Lang Son.

Stringing together the collected information and documents, combined with the initial statements of the two subjects Hung and Tam, to expand the investigation of the case. After coming up with a scientific and methodical combat plan, on the night of May 4, Major Nguyen Huu Cuong, Deputy Chief of Vinh City Police, and two detectives in the special security team set out for the Lang border area to search for and arrest the subject who specialized in supplying crystal meth to Hung and Tam.

At Tan Thanh Border Gate, the working group clarified the identity and identified the stranger as Hoang Van Toan, residing in Van Lang District, Lang Son Province but not present in the area. According to local people, Toan is currently working as a porter in China. After 2 days at the border area, using sharp professional measures, the working group "dispatched" Hoang Van Toan from the other side of the Chinese border back to Vietnam.

From left to right: objectsPhan Van Tam,Cao Duc Hung, Hoang Van Toan

At around 10am on May 6, Toan crossed the border but did not return home but took a taxi to a hotel at Tan Thanh border gate. Believing that Toan rented a hotel room for the purpose of drug trafficking, Major Nguyen Huu Cuong, Deputy Head of the Investigation Committee, called the Vinh City Police to agree on a plan of action.

As planned, at noon on May 6, the task force discovered Toan discussing the purchase and sale of crystal meth with a subject in a hotel. Receiving a signal from Major Nguyen Huu Cuong, two scouts from both sides quickly rushed in like pincers to arrest Hoang Van Toan (born in 1972), residing in Tan Thanh commune, Van Lang district, Lang Son province for the act of illegal drug trafficking. The remaining subject took advantage of the loophole to escape into the forest.

That same night, Toan was extradited to the Vinh City Police Department for investigation. Toan confessed that while working as a porter for a boss in China, Toan found a source of crystal meth but had no place to sell it. In early 2016, Toan made his way to Vinh City and met Hung and Tam. From there, Hung, Tam and Toan agreed to establish a drug trafficking line from Lang Son to Ho Chi Minh City for sale.

After a three-way meeting in Vinh City and Lang Son, the subjects agreed: Toan was responsible for supplying crystal meth from China to Lang Son, while Hung and Tam were responsible for going to the Lang border gate to get the "goods" to Vinh City and Ha Tinh to sell, then bring them to Ho Chi Minh City for further consumption. However, when the "goods" arrived in Vinh City, they were caught red-handed by Vinh City Police.

On May 16, after consolidating the case file, the Vinh City Police Department handed over all the files, suspects and evidence of the drug trafficking case to the Provincial Police Department for further investigation and handling according to regulations.

Breaking up the cross-Vietnam crystal meth case is the fourth crystal meth trafficking case that Vinh City Police have investigated and discovered since the beginning of April, seizing a total of more than 3 kg of crystal meth, prosecuting and temporarily detaining nearly a dozen subjects. This shows that the crystal meth trafficking situation in Nghe An is tending to "heat up" with the amount of crystal meth increasing day by day.

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