The Lao Cai provincial police announced on January 29 that they had coordinated with the Criminal Police Department and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam’s representative office in Cambodia to dismantle a transnational criminal syndicate operating online under the charge of “using computer networks, telecommunications networks and electronic means to appropriate property.” The group was based in a building in Krabau Commune, Kamchay Mear District, Prey Veng Province, Cambodia.
The case was uncovered through professional investigative work by the Lao Cai police. The suspects allegedly used computer networks, telecommunications systems, and electronic devices to carry out cross-border online fraud schemes. Their modus operandi involved creating Facebook accounts to befriend victims on social media, then luring them into investing money in fake financial trading platforms set up by the group to appropriate the funds.
After launching a specialized investigation, the Lao Cai police, together with the Criminal Police Department and the Ministry of Public Security’s representative office in Cambodia, formed five task forces comprising about 100 officers. These teams simultaneously carried out coordinated operations in Cambodia and in the Vietnamese provinces of Lao Cai, Lang Son, Quang Ngai, and Tay Ninh.
In Cambodia, the Vietnamese task force worked with the General Commissariat of National Police under Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior to raid the building used by the syndicate, arresting all 47 suspects. Among them were five Chinese nationals and 42 Vietnamese nationals. The alleged ringleader was identified as Le Dinh Hung, a resident of Hong Gai Ward, Quang Ninh Province. Authorities also seized numerous devices and tools used to carry out the crimes.
Initial investigations indicate that from early 2025 to the present, the group defrauded thousands of victims nationwide, appropriating an estimated VND300 billion.
As of January 23, the Investigation Police Agency of the Lao Cai provincial police had issued decisions to initiate criminal proceedings and prosecute all 47 suspects on charges of using computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic means to appropriate property, in accordance with the law.
