Strengthen enforcement against violations involving notorious criminals.

Authorities dismantled numerous criminal networks involving notorious criminals.

Assessing the security and order situation in the province, on March 29th, the provincial police leadership stated that, in March 2022, overall crime rates showed a downward trend compared to the previous month. However, there was a surge in crimes related to illegal lending and gambling, employing sophisticated and audacious methods. In particular, many cases of law violations involved notorious criminals.criminal record.

For example, on April 1, 2022, the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police announced that they had successfully dismantled a criminal ring specializing in usurious lending in civil transactions using sophisticated and aggressive methods, and temporarily detained four suspects. The ringleader of this network was...Nguyen Dinh Vuong(Born in 1995) residing in Kim Son town, Que Phong district. Vuong is a person with a prior criminal record for harboring and illegally using narcotics.

Providing crucial assistance to Vuong were three accomplices assigned specific tasks by Vuong: Le Anh Luc (born in 1993); Nguyen Quang Tuyen (born in 1993), both residing in Kim Son town, Que Phong district; and Nguyen Lam Van (born in 1989), residing in Quan Bau ward, Vinh city.

The suspects (from left to right): Nguyen Dinh Vuong, Le Anh Luc, and Nguyen Quang Tuyen were arrested. (Photo courtesy of Hanoi)

To run his usurious lending ring, Vuong used software and hired Tuyen to manage the software and loan records. Luc and Van were assigned by Vuong to specialize in debt collection. To collect the money, the perpetrators often went to the victims' homes or workplaces, using tactics to pressure them. In more aggressive cases, they even broke into homes or beat up victims on multiple occasions. During the investigation, the police determined that from 2020 to the present, Nguyen Dinh Vuong had lent money to over 400 victims, totaling approximately 20 billion VND, thereby illegally profiting nearly 10 billion VND with interest rates ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 VND per million VND per day (108-180% per year).

Recently, mobile gambling rings have emerged in the province, operating with high vigilance, equipped with various means and employing numerous alarm systems to evade law enforcement. Therefore, detecting and apprehending these gambling operations has become more difficult for the police. However, through professional methods, the police have detected, apprehended, and prosecuted many large-scale gambling cases involving many people and large sums of money.

In March 2022 alone, authorities discovered and handled 54 cases involving 316 individuals engaged in gambling. Of these, 21 cases involving 152 individuals were prosecuted. For example, on March 11, 2022, the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police temporarily detained 18 individuals for investigation into gambling and organizing gambling activities. This was a case meticulously monitored by the police, tracking the movements of a group involved in organizing and participating in professional, mobile gambling operations that had been a persistent problem in Dien Chau district for a long time.

Pham Khac Loc's farm, the location chosen by the suspects for gambling. (Photo: HN archives)

To avoid detection and arrest by law enforcement, the ringleaders often chose gambling locations in fortified buildings or large, isolated farms in the middle of fields, far from residential areas, with little traffic, making them easy to observe and escape if discovered. Gamblers had their phones confiscated, and gambling sessions lasted approximately two hours, with lookouts assigned throughout. During the investigation, the police identified the ringleader as To Ngoc Phap (born in 1995), residing in Dien Lien commune, Dien Chau district. He is a suspect with a bad reputation and many tricks to evade law enforcement.

Proposal to apply the highest level of the penalty range.

At the inter-ministerial meeting of the Internal Affairs sector on March 29th, an assessment of the situation revealed that several types of crime have emerged. Although the number of incidents is not large, the level and nature of these crimes are becoming increasingly audacious, especially those related to...loan sharks, online gambling and fraud. Evaluating and reporting on the situation regarding maintaining security and order and combating various types of crime, the provincial police leadership emphasized that many cases involved notorious figures in society leading the criminal activities.gangCriminals are involved. Besides being reckless and violent, they also employ many tricks to exploit lax legal regulations to evade punishment from law enforcement. Furthermore, some cases even show signs of challenging law enforcement, spreading false information to mislead public opinion about the prosecution of criminals.

Therefore, in addition to the authorities further strengthening their efforts in detecting, combating, and suppressing all types of crime, the provincial police leadership also requested the provincial leadership to continue to direct more decisively and require law enforcement agencies, during the investigation and trial of cases involving notorious criminals, to apply the highest penalties within the prescribed framework.

A victim's complaint about being scammed online. (Photo courtesy of PV)

Regarding criminalsonline scamsThe police force believes that these criminals employ many sophisticated methods, such as deceiving and luring people into investing in cryptocurrency exchanges, participating in virtual trading platforms, and buying and selling goods online with upfront payment. However, the difficulty for law enforcement is that many victims are local residents but are deceived by perpetrators from other localities. Meanwhile, the measures for raising awareness, warning, and preventing this type of crime are not commensurate with the requirements to widely warn every citizen and those who are easily targeted by these criminals.

At the March briefing of the Internal Affairs Bloc, Comrade Nguyen Van Thong - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee - requested that agencies and departments within the Internal Affairs Bloc, in addition to fulfilling their assigned tasks, further strengthen the dissemination of legal information and raise awareness among the public about sophisticated fraudulent schemes used by various types of criminals. Regarding cases involving notorious criminals, the provincial leadership also requested strict handling to ensure deterrence and the strict enforcement of the law.