The rampant extortion of combine harvesters.

(Baonghean) - In recent years, as mechanization has been promoted in agricultural production, many thugs have taken advantage of this opportunity to profit illegally by extorting money from combine harvesters, causing anxiety and insecurity for farmers and combine harvester owners every harvest season.

People are suffering because of extortion.

Currently, people in Hien Son commune (Do Luong district) are harvesting their summer-autumn crops. From the beginning of the season, extortionists have been harassing and disrupting the harvest. These individuals are Le Van Ly (born in 1985) and Nguyen Quang Canh (born in 1993), who are not outsiders but are actually residents of Hien Son commune.

When the rice began to ripen, Ly and Canh brought in combine harvesters with the intention of contracting the entire rice field in Hien Son commune. Owners of combine harvesters from other areas who wanted to harvest in the area had to sign a contract prepared by them, paying 30,000 dong per sao (a unit of land measurement). Otherwise, they would be threatened, vandalized, and prevented from working. Given Ly and Canh's notorious criminal record, with numerous prison sentences, the combine harvester owners had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

Harvesting rice using a combine harvester. (Illustrative image)

Furthermore, even those who didn't hire the harvesting machines that these thugs extorted were forced to pay an extremely unreasonable "tax." Ms. Nguyen Thi Hau, a resident of Hien Son commune, expressed her frustration: "It's our field, our rice, but if we don't hire their harvesting machines, we have to sign a contract and pay. If we don't comply, they won't let us harvest or they'll withhold the rice. We're furious, but we're worried about the rice spoiling, so we have to put up with it..."

Similarly, three individuals in Thanh Chuong district, Tran Dinh Hung (born 1992), Tran Quoc Dat (born 1995), and Nguyen Canh Tu (born 2000), colluded to form a group specializing in extorting money from combine harvesters. Whenever a combine harvester owner from elsewhere came to work for the local people, they would force them to pay money. Many residents reported that, in addition to physical assault, the extortionists also used tactics such as scattering steel bars in the rice fields to damage the combine harvesters, thus preventing the owners from resisting their orders.

Even if the combine harvester owners cheat them out of their money, charging farmers less, they are ready to resort to violence. This happened in Nghi Loc district at the end of May. Cao Van Suu (residing in Dien Chau district) brought his combine harvester to a rice field in Nghi Xa commune (Nghi Loc) to harvest rice for hire, when Vo Van Hoang – a notorious extortionist in the area – appeared and demanded that Suu pay him 40,000 VND per sao (a unit of land measurement). When Suu refused, Hoang beat him severely.

Fearing for his life, Mr. Suu had to give Hoang 16 million dong as protection money for harvesting rice, and 1 million dong as a "fine" for making false statements.

Stop the protection racket.

In previous years, Yen Thanh district, with its large rice-growing area, was considered fertile ground for protection rackets to exploit. Recognizing this situation, from the beginning of the winter-spring crop season to the summer-autumn crop season this year, Yen Thanh district has issued directives and paid close attention to ensuring security during the rice harvest. Accordingly, the District People's Committee assigned the main task to agricultural cooperatives to organize contracts with machine owners based on specific harvesting locations, setting appropriate prices, and preventing protection rackets from having opportunities to operate.

Three individuals involved in extortion were arrested at Thanh Chuong District Police Station. Photo: CTV

In Bac Thanh commune, this year's summer-autumn rice crop has 280 hectares ready for harvest. The Bac Thanh Agricultural Cooperative has contracted with 7 combine harvester owners from Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, and several other districts in the province to harvest the rice for the local farmers.

According to the contract, before bringing the machine into operation, the machine owner pays the cooperative 500,000 VND for repairs to bridges, culverts, and internal field roads after harvest, and a deposit of 1 million VND per machine (after the harvest is completed, the cooperative returns the deposit to the machine owner).

The machine owners are responsible for harvesting the entire rice crop of the farmers; the harvesting price is agreed upon at 150,000 VND/sao for dry fields and 160,000 VND/sao for deep fields. The cooperative will coordinate with the police force to ensure maximum security and order so that the machine owners can harvest the rice with peace of mind.

Yen Thanh district currently has 47 agricultural cooperatives in 38 communes and towns. Promoting the role of cooperatives to end protection rackets is considered by Yen Thanh to be the optimal solution at this time.

However, Mr. Nguyen Vuong Ngoc, Vice Chairman of Yen Thanh District, stated: "Not all cooperatives in the district are able to fulfill this role. Many cooperatives are not strong enough in all aspects to perform the service function, so people still rely on intermediaries to call in customers and then pay them commissions, giving protection rackets opportunities to operate."

From June 2017 to the present, the Nghe An Provincial Police have investigated three cases of extortion involving harvesting machines, arresting six suspects. To ensure security and order in the area and prevent potential and complex developments, the Nghe An Provincial Police leadership has instructed police units and local authorities to regularly monitor the situation, coordinate with commune and town police to proactively gather information, and continue to investigate and promptly identify groups and individuals involved in extortion activities in order to apprehend them and resolutely prevent this type of crime from running rampant.

In addition, the police force is also reviewing and compiling a list of groups and individuals who are likely to be involved in protection rackets and extortion, in order to place them under surveillance and implement deterrent measures to prevent them from committing crimes.

Phuong Thao - Quynh Trang