Lesson 3: Unveiling a human trafficking ring involving women and children.

Investigative report

(Baonghean)With the selling price of a woman in China ranging from 400,000 to 500,000 yuan (120-160 million Vietnamese dong), it can be said that no "commodity" is as profitable as human trafficking. For naive and trusting young girls in mountainous areas, traffickers easily sneak into remote villages and sell them like commodities, many of whom are under 16 years old...

We visited the home of Lo Thi Xoi (born in 1997) in Hong Dien village (Don Phuc commune, Con Cuong district), who had recently been sold to China according to a news report. Xoi's father, Lo Van Mann, was watching television. His wife was preparing dinner of boiled cassava. Mr. Mann didn't want to talk about his daughter, only saying she went to work with her aunt, Lo Thi Nam. Upon further investigation, we learned that Lo Thi Nam was only her foster aunt, not her biological aunt. According to locals, it was supposed to be Lo Thi Lan (Lo Thi Xoi's younger sister), but after a "trial and error," Lo Thi Xoi was sent instead. Notably, for each woman trafficked to China, the family receives 30 million dong. Several families are preparing to rebuild their houses with the money from "selling their daughters."

According to Quang Van Dinh, Head of the Chi Khe Commune Police Station in Con Cuong District, Chi Khe has had four people trafficked to China since 2011: Tran Thi Hong (born in 1990) from Bai Trang village; Loc Thi Trang (born in 1991), Le Thi Nhung from Thien Thanh village, Chi Khe; and Lo Thi Hien (born in 1977). Several individuals involved in the human trafficking ring have emerged, including Luong Thi I. from Bai Van village; Pham Van B. from Block 5, Con Cuong Town; and Lao Thi A, who is currently in China. Pham Van B. has a criminal record and previously trafficked Vam Thi Mo (from Luu Kien, Tuong Duong), who fortunately managed to escape in March 2012.

The subject is Vi Thi Khuon (Ba village, Huu Kiem commune, Ky Son district).
related to the scam of luring people to China.

Don Phuc - Con Cuong is a hotspot for human trafficking. Here, several suspected individuals stand out: Lo Thi N. (Hong Dien village), Vi Thi H. (Hong Thang village), and Luong Thi Nh. (born in 1982). Luong Thi Nh. lived in Thanh Hoa for a time, got married, and has a daughter. H. and Nh. frequently travel from China to Vietnam, only returning to their village in the evenings. In Don Phuc, there is also Kha Thi T. (Puc village), who left in 2006 and later brought Chinese men back, introducing them to others as husbands. Previously, T. was married to a local man, but was beaten by him, and they divorced. T. returned from China wealthy, wearing a lot of gold and silver jewelry; the commune also facilitated the process of renewing her identity card and arranging her exit from the country. Ms. Luong Thi X. (born in 1961), residing in Hong Dien village (Don Phuc - Con Cuong), more than 10 years ago, unable to endure the cruel abuse of her violent, alcoholic husband, fled to China and lived with a Chinese man. In 2004, X. returned with her Chinese husband and took her two children with her. Upon her return, people in the village noticed that she had a lot of money, was plump, and wore a lot of gold jewelry.

While the Nghe An Newspaper reporting team was working on this report, in Ky Son: Authorities successfully rescued three young women who had been tricked by human traffickers into crossing the border (April 7, 2012), arresting the suspects: Kha Van Nghiep (born 1979), Luong Van Viet (born 1976), and Moong Van Nam (born 1983), all residing in Cha Ca 2 and Cha Ca 1 villages, Bao Thang commune, Ky Son district.

We met Moong Thi May in Na Luong village (Huu Kiem - Ky Son), who had just escaped from China. May recounted: While feeling distressed about her personal life (May was in love with a young man in Tuong Duong but her parents forbade it), Ms. Quang Thi Thai came and told her about a high-paying, easy job opportunity. May decided to follow Thai "to work far away." Thai took May to Ba village - Huu Kiem and handed her over to Vi Thi Khuon, whose daughter, Loc Thi May (born in 1995), had just returned from China.

After following Loc Thi May to China, Moong Thi May was sold by Loc Thi May to another woman named Hao for 450,000 yuan. Hao forced May to entertain clients, but May refused. May was beaten, but still refused. Seeing May's "strength," Hao let May follow her, saying, "Work for me." Hao took May to work planting vegetables and barley in a mountainous area. Knowing Hao needed someone to "find goods," May lied, saying she would bring "goods" to her when she visited home. Hao took May to Vinh and then returned to China, leaving May to take a bus back to her hometown on her own. May said, "I will never send anyone to her, because only after going there myself did I realize that it's not as good as people say."

In 2011, May's father, Mr. Mong Van Duc (from Na Luong village, Ky Son district), filed a complaint with authorities alleging his daughter had been trafficked to China. According to Mr. Duc's complaint, those involved in selling May included Quang Thi Thai (referred to as Thai in his complaint), Vi Thi Quy (residing in Na Luong village), and two women, Vi Thi Khuon (born in 1974) and Loc Thi May (born in 1995), both residing in Ba village (Huu Kiem district, Ky Son district). However, the commune police have not yet verified this because the victim is currently in China. When Mr. Duc went to the homes of Ms. Thai and Ms. Quy (as described in his complaint), they had already left, leaving the two houses empty. The head of Na Luong village, Mr. Xa Van Cong, stated that Thai had left the village with her three young children due to threats from Mr. Duc's family. Thải's husband and mother-in-law are in prison for drug trafficking, and her father-in-law passed away a few days before the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon (2012).

Mr. Tran Quang Trung, Deputy Head of Huu Kiem Commune Police, said: "In the near future, Huu Kiem Commune Police will summon those involved in Mr. Duc's lawsuit to take their statements."

It can be said that currently, a dense network of "agents" has formed within human trafficking rings in the mountainous districts of Nghe An province. These rings consist of local people who lure their fellow villagers and then transport them to Vinh or Mong Cai. Many of these individuals were once victims themselves, having been sold, deceived, or forced into marriage with disabled foreign men in rural areas of China, or sold into brothels abroad. Now, they return to lure naive and gullible young women and girls. The enormous profits from selling "goods" are divided among them according to their roles in "carrying," "managing," and "leading." Many end up in brothels and prostitution rings in Vietnam or China, and many face tragic fates in foreign lands.
(To be continued)

Hong Soc - Ha Phuong