On the afternoon of 6/3, Le Thi Nhu Ngoc, 47, was sentenced by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court to four years for violating regulations on resource exploitation and four years for bribery. The total sentence is eight years in prison.

In connection with the case, 16 other defendants received sentences ranging from two years and six months to five years in prison for violating regulations on resource exploitation and brokering bribery.

Specifically, Phan Le Khanh, a former Ho Chi Minh City police officer, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for receiving bribes.

Defendant Le Thi Nhu Ngoc (seated in the back row) and other defendants in court today. Photo: Binh Nguyen.

According to the indictment, from 3/2022 to 12/2023, Ngoc established Quang Thuan Trading, Services, and Construction Company Limited, headquartered in Thu Duc City. She used others' names to legitimize the illegally extracted sand, though she managed all company operations.

Ngoc hired 14 individuals to illegally extract 11,038 cubic meters of sand from the Dong Nai River, in the section bordering the former Thu Duc City and Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai province. She then rented a site for collection. Ngoc assigned Nguyen Thuan An, her nephew, to manage the collection site, provide fuel for the extraction vehicles, advance wages to the sand extraction and transport team, and organize bringing the sand ashore. After screening for impurities, the defendants moved the sand from the collection site to another location at Lang Lun Port, Dong Nai province, for sale.

Lam Duc Minh was hired to act as a lookout for authorities. Upon detecting inspections, Minh would alert the extraction team to halt operations and dispose of vehicles and evidence.

Ngoc also instructed other defendants to operate boats in the middle of the river for illegal sand dredging. To avoid detection, Ngoc, through Nguyen Van Minh, bribed Phan Le Khanh. The defendants testified that they paid Khanh 36 million VND to overlook violations and facilitate illegal sand mining activities.

After a period of surveillance, in early 2024, multiple police forces raided and caught the group in the act of illegal sand mining, intercepting several tons of sand being transported to a collection point in Long Buu residential area, Long Binh ward, in the former Thu Duc City.

The indictment identified Ngoc as the ringleader, fully responsible for the 11,038 cubic meters of illegally extracted sand, with total illicit gains exceeding 4.4 billion VND.

In court, Ngoc and the defendants admitted their criminal acts. Nguyen Van Minh confirmed the Zalo exchanges with Phan Le Khanh, with these messages related to the illegal sand mining on the Dong Nai River.

Khanh, however, denied covering for Minh to organize illegal sand mining on the river. He stated that while defendant Minh messaged him about illegal sand mining, he only replied for Minh to handle it himself and did not interfere with Minh's actions. Khanh claimed the money was a loan that he had repaid to Minh.

Binh Nguyen