Dismantling a ring of buying, selling and storing 2.3 tons of firecrackers from abroad to Nghe An

Previously, through the work of grasping the situation, the Criminal Police Department discovered that the subject Dang Duc Phuong (born in 1983), residing in Vinh Tan ward, Vinh city (Nghe An), had signs of committing crimes related to firecrackers. This subject had 2 previous convictions for crimestheft of propertyand illegal possession of drugs.

As a truck driver on the North-South route and already acquainted with each other, Phuong contacted another driver, Le Van Duan (born in 1988), residing in Loc Thanh commune, Loc Ninh district, Binh Phuoc province, to buy a large quantity of illegal fireworks from Cambodia to Vietnam, then hid them in foam boxes to disguise them with the goods on the truck and transported them to Phuong's home in Vinh city, Nghe An province.

After gathering enough quantity, Phuong rented a truck to carry the fireworks to distribute and sell to other subjects in and outside the city for these subjects to retail.

In Vinh city and Nghi Loc district, Phuong did not sell the fireworks directly but delivered them to Nguyen Quang Nam (born in 1973), residing in Nghi Long commune, Nghi Loc district, who was the main consumer and distributor of the fireworks. Like Phuong, Nam had a previous conviction for trading in prohibited goods.

Identifying this as a very large firecracker trading and storage ring that infiltrated from abroad, was complex in nature, and had a negative impact on the security and order situation in the area, the Criminal Police Department reported and asked for direction from the Provincial Police leaders, mobilizing forces and means to prepare a case to fight.

After monitoring and applying a combination of professional measures on the evening of October 17, 2024, the Criminal Police Department coordinated with the professional department of the Provincial Police, Nghi Loc District Police, Vinh Tan Ward Police, Vinh City, and Hoa Lu International Border Gate Border Guard Station to arrest Dang Duc Phuong while he was loading fireworks at his private home onto a truck for sale. The seized evidence included 161 blocks of foreign-branded explosive fireworks, with a total weight of 213.3 kg.

Expanding the investigation, from October 18 to 20, 2024, the Criminal Police Department arrested Le Van Duan; Nguyen Quang Nam and 5 other subjects in the ring of trading, storing and transporting firecrackers from abroad to Nghe An led by Duan, Phuong and Nam. The total amount of firecrackers seized in the investigation weighed 230 kg; along with 2 cars and 4 mobile phones.

Currently, the Criminal Police Department is continuing to investigate, clarify, and handle the subjects according to the law.