Eradicating inter-provincial online gambling ring 'Choang Club'

Recently, through information provided by the people and through the work of grasping the local situation, the police force discovered that many young people in Nghe An province and many other provinces and cities took advantage of the convenience of 24/7 online payment services and online savings deposits of banks to participate inonline gamblingThis causes much public outrage, entails many consequences for society and is also the cause of many other types of crimes.

Nguyen Van Hoang, the leader of the gambling ring, at the police station. Photo: Ngoc Hoang

Recognizing the seriousness of the incident, the leaders of Nghe An Provincial Police directly directed the Criminal Police Department, Cyber ​​Security Department and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department to co-chair the establishment of a special project to fight the incident.

During the investigation, the Task Force discovered a large-scale gambling ring from the website http://www.choangc1.club led by Nguyen Ngoc Hoang (born in 1992), residing in Gia Lam commune, Lam Ha district, Lam Dong province. Hoang has many years of experience in internet management and business, so he is very knowledgeable about information technology and has many tricks to conceal his crimes. To run the gambling ring, Hoang bought equipment, rented locations and connected with gambling organizations abroad.

Three female assistants to Hoang: Dao Tri Dai, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung, Mai Thi Thuy Trang. Photo: Ngoc Hoang

Hoang was assisted by four other people: Nguyen Ba Linh (born in 1993), residing in Vinh Tan ward, Vinh city, Nghe An province; Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung (born in 2001), residing in Duyen Hai town, Tra Vinh province; Mai Thi Thuy Trang (born in 2000), residing in Dinh Quan district, Dong Nai province and Dao Tri Dai (born in 1999), residing in Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City.

This group rented luxury apartments in Ho Chi Minh City and a 3-storey villa in Lam Ha district, Lam Dong province to run the gambling ring. Nguyen Ngoc Hoang also directed his "underlings" to frequently change their residence to avoid the authorities. At the operating locations, Hoang installed a dense surveillance camera system to keep watch. Whenever there was any movement, the subjects quickly erased traces and electronic data.

Nguyen Ngoc Hoang, Nguyen Ba Linh. Photo: Ngoc Hoang

On December 29, 2021, the Task Force received information that Hoang had secretly moved his headquarters from Ho Chi Minh City to Lam Ha District, Lam Dong Province. Determining that this was a time when the subjects were not yet highly vigilant, the Task Force decided to coordinate with relevant units and localities to solve the case. At exactly 2:00 a.m. on December 30, 2021, more than 100 officers and soldiers divided into 12 working groups simultaneously searched 12 locations in many provinces and cities such as Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Lam Dong, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Thanh Hoa... successfully arresting 14 subjects, including the mastermind and leader Nguyen Ngoc Hoang. The total evidence seized in the task force included: 5 desktop computers, 23 mobile phones, 19 ATM cards, and 15 bank accounts were frozen.

The subjects in the gambling ring were detained by the police. Photo: Ngoc Hoang

Currently, the investigation agency is continuing to verify and clarify the remaining 4 accounts that Nguyen Ngoc Hoang used for gambling; at the same time, urgently arresting other related subjects.