On 18/9, Tri (25) and 12 other defendants (5 gold shop owners from various provinces) appeared before the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on charges of smuggling. Sa (45), currently a fugitive, is being tried in absentia.
The indictment states that the defendants exploited the price difference between Vietnamese and international gold, along with the high demand for gold domestically, to establish two smuggling rings with Cambodian connections, trafficking a total of 113 kg of gold.
Sa orchestrated one ring, smuggling 36 kg of gold, worth almost 80 billion dong, through the An Giang province border. Tri managed the other ring, smuggling 77 kg of gold, worth over 172 billion dong, through the Long An province border.
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The defendants at today’s court hearing. Photo: Hai Duyen |
The defendants at today’s court hearing. Photo: Hai Duyen
The prosecution alleges that around 12/2024, Sa learned that Nguyen Huu Nghia, who owned rice paddies near the border and frequently crossed into Cambodia via the Vinh Te canal, could be hired to smuggle USD. Sa hired Nghia to transport USD to Cambodia, handing it over to individuals known as Xay or Map (identities unknown), and then bringing gold back into Vietnam.
Nghia concealed the gold under the engine of his motorboat to avoid detection. Once back in Vietnam, he would transfer the gold to his wife, Le Thi Kim Xuyen, who then passed it on to two accomplices to deliver to gold shops in An Giang, Ca Mau, and Ho Chi Minh City.
After successfully smuggling and selling 24 kg of gold (worth over 53 billion dong), Nghia was apprehended by An Giang border guards on 17/12/2024 while transporting another 12 kg (worth over 26 billion dong) from Cambodia.
In the smuggling ring led by Nguyen Minh Tri, the indictment reveals that Tri was a fish trader operating across the border. Through his business contacts, he met Van Hear (a Cambodian national, identity unknown), a gold supplier in Cambodia, who hired him to smuggle gold into Vietnam.
Tri exploited his frequent cross-border fish trading to conceal gold and USD for transport. Initially, Tri personally retrieved the gold from Cambodia. Around 12/2024, he began hiring someone to drive a three-wheeled vehicle carrying fish containers, concealing USD, to Cambodia to meet Van Hear’s associates, exchanging the money for gold.
Between 6/12/2024 and 17/12/2024, Tri arranged to purchase 77 kg of gold from Van Hear, totaling over 172 billion dong. After transporting the gold across the former Long An province border, he would task Cao Van Chuc with delivering it to Ho Chi Minh City, where Nguyen Chi Khoa received 29 kg (worth nearly 65 billion dong) and Pham Ngoc Thang received 48 kg (worth over 107 billion dong).
Tri is identified as the mastermind, profiting nearly 27,000 USD (over 652 million dong).
In court today, the defendants admitted to the charges as outlined in the indictment. Several individuals hired by Sa to transport the smuggled gold claimed they had not yet received payment before their arrests.
The trial is ongoing, with questioning expected to continue until 19/9.
Hai Duyen
