Over 200 arrested in transnational scam ring

Police from two nations collaborated to raid multiple locations in Cambodia, apprehending 205 Vietnamese individuals operating within scam companies.

In the early hours of 15/1, Tuyen Quang Provincial Police, in coordination with professional units, repatriated 74 of the 205 individuals arrested in Cambodia to the investigative agency via the Moc Bai international border gate in Tay Ninh province.

This marks the successful outcome of a specialized investigation by Tuyen Quang Provincial Police, targeting a transnational criminal organization that used high-tech methods to defraud thousands of victims across the country.

Suspects being escorted. *Photo: Tuyen Quang Provincial Police*

Previously, on 12/1, Tuyen Quang Provincial Police, in cooperation with the Criminal Police Department (C02, Ministry of Public Security) and Tay Ninh province, traveled to Cambodia. With the support of the Royal Cambodian Police, the task force simultaneously raided the Kim Sa 1, Kim Sa 3, Titan, and Tam Thai Tu areas in Bavet city, Svay Rieng province.

There, police apprehended 205 Vietnamese individuals working in "online scam companies" operated by Chinese nationals, seizing numerous computers and mobile phones.

Evidence seized by police. *Photo: Tuyen Quang Provincial Police*

According to investigators, the group employed sophisticated tactics, often impersonating police officers to instruct victims on installing digital household registrations, or posing as power company employees and tax officials. They sent malicious links to entice people to click. Once victims clicked the link, the group gained control of their phones, subsequently accessing banking applications to drain their funds.

Authorities assess this as the largest scam ring ever dismantled by Tuyen Quang Provincial Police, with the defrauded amount reaching hundreds of billions of dong. The decisive crackdown on these overseas strongholds demonstrates the provincial police's resolve in preventing this type of crime, which has caused significant public concern.