The debt collection methods of Nghe An gangsters are mentally terrorizing

In mid-April, when the family of Mr. Phan Huu L. (50 years old, Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen), was preparing to go to bed, a group of young men broke into the house. This gang was led by Nguyen Van Vuong (31 years old, living in the same commune). "Everyone had tattoos all over their bodies. They shouted loudly to find my son," Mr. L. said. At that time, Mr. L.'s son, Phan Huu P. (18 years old), was still in grade 12.

“Your son borrowed 215 million VND from us and did not pay when the due date came, so we came to collect the debt. If P. does not pay, his parents must pay. If his parents do not pay, the consequences will be that P. will have his arms and legs chopped off…”, Mr. L, recounted the threats of Vuong and his juniors. Hearing what they said, Mr. L and his wife immediately went into the room to call their son out to ask, but by this time he had run away because he was too scared.

Mr. L's son, the Vuong group, printed photos and posted them everywhere to search for him. Photo: HB

A few days later, Vuong and his men continued to go to Mr. L's house, posted P's picture right at the gate, and then went to Hung Tay Kindergarten - where P's mother was a teacher - to put pressure on him.

"They said that if my husband and I did not pay, we would have to pay an additional 36 million VND in interest each month and my child's life would not be safe. My husband and I tried to find him, but for a long time we still did not know where he was or what was happening to him because he did not contact his family or the school," said Mr. L.

With a bewildered look, the man said that until now he still did not understand why his son, who was in grade 12, borrowed such a large amount of money. “It is very unusual for Vuong and his juniors to lend my son such a large amount of money. My son was born in 2000 and is still a high school student, so why would he borrow such a large amount of money? They threatened my son, making him scared and forcing him to drop out of school and leave home. My wife and I always live in a state of anxiety and fear, and the neighborhood is insecure,” Mr. L. said.

Nguyen Van Vuong (aka Vuong Phuc), is the leader of a loan shark group. Photo: Tien Hung

Since the day his son ran away, Mr. Phan Huu L.'s family life has been turned upside down. He and his wife have not had a good night's sleep. Late at night, motorbikes roar in front of his house, many young men hang around in front of the door. They also stick pictures of his son on the wall in the neighborhood, in front of the kindergarten gate to threaten the family. Afraid that something might happen, Mr. L. had to quit his job as a construction worker and stay home to keep watch. But what he fears most is that his wife and daughter will be threatened, terrorized, and beaten by this group.

“My eldest daughter was so afraid of being beaten that she had to stop studying English in Vinh City and did not dare leave the house all day. Although my wife still had to go to work to teach, she was always in a state of panic and fear, not knowing what this group would do,” Mr. L. said.

A type of debt collection that terrorizes the mind of the Vuong group. Photo: HB

Mr. L. and his wife are not the only ones who are in trouble with this gang. In Hung Tay commune, many other families are also in trouble, separated, having to sell all their assets, and borrow money from the bank to pay off their debts to this gang. The case of Mr. Vo Dinh T.'s family (Khoa Da 3 hamlet) is a typical example.

For over a year now, Mr. T.'s family has been living in a heavy, gloomy atmosphere. His son, Vo Dinh Ph., was lured into gambling by a group of young men in the commune and had to write a loan note of hundreds of millions of dong. Fearing that his son would be beaten, Mr. T. mortgaged his house book and borrowed more than 500 million dong from the bank to pay the group, thinking that everything would end.

This group often gathers in front of the debtor's house in the middle of the night, lighting fires, shouting, or throwing dirt and beer bottles into the house to put pressure. Photo: HB

However, a few days later, the group continued to come to his house and said that Mr. Ph. still owed money. Because he was so scared, Mr. Ph. then had to flee to a mountainous district but was eventually captured by the group and forced to sign a debt paper of 1.6 billion VND.

Recalling his family's difficult times, Mr. T. said that he never thought that in today's society there would exist such a reckless and daring gang.

“When my son ran away, many people came to our house to threaten my wife, me, and our two children. They also threatened and terrorized my wife and me 11 times by throwing dirty substances into the house, throwing them at us when we were out on the street, or while taking our children to school,” said Mr. T.

One of Vuong's trusted henchmen is being detained by the police. Photo: HB

“My whole family lived in fear at that time. Every time my two children saw strangers, their faces turned pale and they ran into the room crying. My wife was taking her children to school by bike when this group threw dirty substances in the middle of the market. I was forced to fall on my motorbike in the middle of the road.” After a long time, unable to bear it any longer, Mr. T. had to cut off a plot of land larger than 126 square meters to pay off his debt before this gang would leave him alone.

According to Hung Tay Commune Police, Nguyen Van Vuong has 3 criminal records and has gathered dozens of followers in the area in the past few years. In addition, he has also linked up with many gangs in other localities to specialize in loan sharking activities.

“He is a dangerous criminal, with many schemes and tricks to deal with the police force. Vuong is the leader of a criminal gang operating in the area, has many relationships with subjects with criminal records inside and outside the province. He has an attitude of contempt for the law, stores weapons (such as guns, knives, swords, hammers...) in his car, and often commits illegal acts with his juniors that affect security and order,” the report on the security and order situation in Hung Tay commune stated.

Another debtor being sought by Vuong. Photo: HB

According to the authorities, Vuong has no stable job and no income from other legal sources, but still has many sources of money to build a house and constantly change cars. "Through the work of grasping the situation, this amount of money is obtained from illegal activities such as organizing gambling, loan sharking, debt collection, football betting, etc.," a commune police leader commented.

On the morning of December 25, after months of surveillance, dozens of Vinh City Police detectives raided a motel in Quan Bau ward and arrested Vuong and nearly 10 other juniors. At that time, the group, including both men and women, were using drugs together. In addition to this leader, juniors such as Hoang Tuan Dung (24 years old), Nguyen Van Ngoc (21 years old, both residing in Hung Tay commune), and Nguyen Van Thang (26 years old, residing in Nam Giang, Nam Dan), are currently being detained for investigation of disturbing public order. The remaining group of men and women are being profiled to be sent to compulsory drug rehabilitation.

Another junior of Vuong. Photo: HB

According to the initial investigation by the police, in the past 2 months, the gang led by Vuong has thrown dirty substances into the house of Nguyen Van L. (39 years old, residing in Hung Binh ward, Vinh city) 5 times to terrorize him.

"At the police station, this group initially confessed that because Mr. L's relatives had borrowed money from them and had not yet paid it back, they threw dirty substances to terrorize him and force him to pay the debt," said Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Cuong, Deputy Chief of Vinh City Police. He added that Vuong and his followers often covered their vehicle's license plates, wore masks, and took advantage of the late night when there were few people around to carry out their acts, making the investigation process difficult.

The investigation agency determined that not only did they throw dirty substances, this group also bought rat poison and weed killer and dumped them in front of Mr. L's house. The police are still investigating and believe that this group has caused many other incidents.