After a three-day trial, the People's Court of Quang Ninh province sentenced 110 people in a gambling den of 200 people in Dong Trieu town (Quang Ninh) to sentences ranging from suspended prison sentences to 54 months.

Defendants at trial. Photo: Hai Bang

On the afternoon of November 11, for the crime of gambling and organizing gambling, four people identified as the masterminds, including Nguyen Van Cuong (37 years old), Nguyen Duc Truong (38 years old), Luong Xuan Ban (61 years old), Nguyen Chi Vinh (56 years old) were sentenced to between 24 and 54 months in prison. The remaining 106 defendants were sentenced to 24 months or less or suspended sentences for similar crimes. This was the first time that the People's Court of Quang Ninh province tried a case with a large number of defendants sitting in the courtroom.

According to the indictment, from February 10 to March 5, at the litchi garden in Trang Bach village, Hoang Que commune, Dong Trieu town, Cuong, Truong, Ban, and Vinh, with the help of 20 other people, organized gambling in the form of dice shaking.

Gamblers must pay 5% of their total winnings to the house. The ringleaders use this money, along with their winnings, to cover the operating costs of the casino and pay those involved.

The total amount of money the defendants illegally profited from the gambling den's activities was nearly 380 million VND. The investigation agency seized more than 344 million VND on the gambling table along with some other assets.

The vacant land in the thousands of square meters of lychee garden in Trang Bach village is where gambling is organized. Photo: Minh Cuong

Earlier, at around 1:30 p.m. on March 5, undercover police in three train cars raided a gambling den hidden deep in a thousands-square-meter lychee orchard in Trang Bach village. During the raid, Quang Ninh police detained nearly 200 people along with about 50 cars and 25 motorbikes.

Quang Ninh Party Secretary Nguyen Van Doc requested that the Dong Trieu City Party Secretary must have specific disciplinary measures, especially for local leaders.

According to VNE