On 9/6, the Bo Y International Border Gate Guard Station transferred the case to the Quang Ngai Provincial Police Investigation Agency to investigate Vy, 54, and Nguyen Anh Duong, 26, an assistant driver, both from Gia Lai province, for illegal cross-border goods transport.

Driver Vy and assistant driver Duong with the seized evidence. *Photo: Quang Ngai Provincial Border Guard*

The investigation revealed that Vy was driving a passenger bus with Duong as his assistant on the Vietnam-Laos route. Authorities, including border guard, customs, and police forces, formed a task force to monitor and inspect them due to suspicions of illegal gold transport across the border.

At noon on 30/5, as the passenger bus driven by Vy entered Vietnam from Laos via the Bo Y International Border Gate, the task force stopped the vehicle. They instructed the driver, assistant driver, and passengers to proceed to the luggage inspection area.

During the inspection process, Vy and Duong entered the toilet. There, Vy was observed throwing a package wrapped in black tape into a mop bucket. He was then instructed to retrieve the package for inspection.

Inside the package were two gold-colored metal pieces. Vy and Duong confessed to transporting this gold for a woman in Attapeu province, Laos, to a recipient in Vietnam, in exchange for a fee of one million VND.

At the time of the inspection, Vy was unable to produce any documents proving the legal origin of the gold.

A forensic report confirmed the seized items were gold, with a total weight of 538.7 grams, valued at over 1.8 billion VND.

Pham Linh