19 year old youth defrauded many women

On February 29, The was detained by Lao Cai police to clarify the acts of murder, robbery, and human trafficking under 16 years old.

According to the police, at the age of 14, The went to China to work as a hired hand in Hekou County, Yunnan Province, and so became fluent in Chinese. There, his brother-in-law, Truong Hung Long (32 years old), and another Chinese man asked The to find Vietnamese women to sell across the border for between 8,000 and 12,000 yuan (26 to 40 million VND).

In September 2019, The and his old friend, Truong Van Loc (24 years old), went to the border to buy two sets of clothes similar to those of the Chinese police and many supporting tools such as pepper spray, handcuffs, flashlights, and electric batons.

On the afternoon of September 16, the two crossed the border and in the early morning, they encountered a group of 20 Vietnamese people who were fleeing to China to work as hired laborers. They chased and subdued 17 of them. Among them, there were three young women, but two were released by The after they robbed them of their phones and 5,000 yuan. The and Loc controlled the remaining girl and took her deep into China and sold her to Long for 10,000 yuan (more than 33 million VND).

The next "prey" of The was a 15-year-old girl studying at a secondary school in Bac Ha district whom he met through social media. After successfully confessing his love, The met this girl for the first time and immediately tricked her into being sold across the border to Long for 10,000 yuan (more than 33 million VND). In October 2019, The flirted with another girl through social media and during the second meeting, he tricked the victim into being sold to Long for 9,000 yuan (nearly 30 million VND).

Still using the old trick of flirting and promising to get married, The and his accomplices then tricked two other girls into selling them across the border for profit.

After spending all the money, on December 18, 2019, The and four other accomplices bought a sharp knife and hired a taxi from the center of Hekou County (Yunnan Province, China). When they reached a deserted road, they murdered the driver, robbed him of his belongings, and fled. Three of the suspects were arrested by the Chinese police shortly after.

On February 20, The was arrested by Lao Cai police under a wanted warrant while hiding in a hired porter's shed in Ban Phiet commune, Bao Thang district.

Police are continuing to expand the investigation into the case.