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Pham Duy Phu at the time of his arrest. Photo: Hong Nhung |
Police identified 33-year-old Pham Duy Phu from Nghe An province as the mastermind, possessing advanced IT skills, design, and printing expertise. Phu not only managed the advertising and fake Zalo accounts to process orders and gather customer information, but also directed the entire production process.
Phu, along with Tran Quoc Huy and Nguyen Phi Dinh, used a secluded luxury apartment in Vinh as their "production workshop" for various forged documents, including certificates, national ID cards, and driver's licenses ordered online.
The forged documents were highly sophisticated and looked almost authentic, according to police.
Phu used fake Facebook and Telegram accounts to recruit assistants and office staff nationwide. The recruits, unaware of their involvement in illegal activities, were asked to open bank accounts, receive and transfer money, or perform other simple tasks, unwittingly becoming links in the money laundering and support network for the operation.
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Thousands of counterfeit driver's licenses produced by Phu and his accomplices. Photo: Hong Nhung |
The forged documents were sent to a hub in Hanoi managed by Nguyen Huy Tien and Dinh Xuan Nam before being delivered to customers. To avoid detection, Tien and Nam distributed shipments across various ViettelPost and VNPost branches throughout the city instead of using a single post office. Mai Quoc Viet (residing in Hanoi) generated tracking numbers, monitored shipments, and handled any arising issues.
Since its inception in 2022, authorities allege Phu's network illegally profited over 4 billion dong (VND).
On 19/9, Hue City Police charged Phu and seven accomplices: Nguyen Huy Tien (46, Hanoi), Nguyen Phi Dinh (28, Nghe An), Pham Dac Hoa (43, Hue), Tran Quoc Huy (31, Nghe An), Pham Huu Dung (34, Hanoi), Dinh Xuan Nam (25, Ninh Binh), and Mai Quoc Viet (25, Nam Dinh) with counterfeiting seals and documents of agencies and organizations, and using counterfeit seals and documents, under Article 341 of the Penal Code.
Vo Thanh
