Shocked when former naturalized V-League foreign player arrested for fraud

A former Cameroonian footballer who played in the V-League has just been arrested by Can Tho Police for fraud and property appropriation. Nguyen Hang Tcheuko Minh was arrested along with two African men, Monthe De Fouda Paul Martial (29 years old, Cameroon) and Ifeanyi Matthew Anthony (28 years old, Nigeria).

Investigators said that at the end of 2016, a Nigerian man named Papa (living in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) invited Anthony and Tchueko Minh to plan a fraud to appropriate property.

This group's tactic is to get to know Vietnamese women through social networks, promise to give them gifts, and then use various excuses to take their money.

In total, Minh and the suspects swindled more than one billion VND from a woman from Can Tho. The Can Tho City Police Investigation Agency is taking statements to bring this case to court.

Nguyen Hang Tcheuko Minh's real name is Benoit Tcheuko, born in 1983 in Cameroon. After coming to V-League, this central midfielder played for Kien Giang, Dong Thap and Dong Nai.

Not having good expertise but “weaker than stronger”, plus being married to a Vietnamese woman and having a good command of Vietnamese, Benoit Tcheuko was naturalized by Kien Giang to play in V-League 2013 from round 8 and took his wife’s last name. Tchueko Minh’s wife is the broker for striker Oseni Bolaji, who is playing for Hanoi FC, to come play football in Vietnam.

This 1m70 tall midfielder used to play in Vietnam for Saigon Stone Art (2007) and XSKT Can Tho (2010-2011), before starting his career at the top by joining K.Kien Giang in 2012.

Here, Tchueko Minh went through difficult days because the Western football team owed him a lot of money. When Kien Giang dissolved, Tchueko Minh also lost money unjustly. Tchueko Minh used to be a player broker after retiring in Dong Nai. However, this career was difficult because of bad luck and the players Tchueko Minh brought over were not liked by the clubs.

The fact that he colluded with African friends to defraud women was quite surprising to many people who had been in contact with Tchueko Minh. A former coach of Tchueko Minh said: “Before he joined my team, he was quite gentle. After playing, he usually spent time with his family.

The money he earned was quite good because naturalized foreign players have advantages, the club pays him no less than foreign players, at least 50 million VND per month. However, after leaving the team, I did not contact him, and I do not know how he lives. Life is unpredictable."