Tricked and sold 20 people to the Golden Triangle to make fraudulent phone calls

The March 24 verdict of the People's Court of Ha Tinh province sentenced Thanh, 36, to 14 years in prison; Tuan, 35, to 9 years for human trafficking, under Article 150 of the Penal Code.

In connection with the case, Trieu Thi Thanh Tuyen, 39 years old; Bui Duy Hieu, 31 years old, were sentenced to 4-6 years in prison for the crime of abuse of trust to appropriate property, according to Article 175 of the Penal Code.

The trial panel determined that the defendants' actions were very serious, infringing on the victims' personal freedom and legal property rights, affecting security and order... so they needed to be severely punished as a deterrent.

Previously, the four defendants expressed remorse, admitted that they committed the crime out of temporary greed, and hoped for a lighter sentence so they could soon return home to take care of their families and make up for their mistakes.

According to the indictment, in 2023, Thanh and Tuan worked as employees at the Golden Triangle special zone in Bo Keo province (Laos), specializing in Internet gambling activities. The two were then asked by their Chinese boss to find people to bring to the special zone to serve in fraudulent phone calls and gambling activities. In return, they would receive 2% of the sales these workers made.

From November 2023 to March 2024, Thanh and Tuan returned to Ha Tinh, offering the trick of "easy work, high salary", inviting 20 people to leave the country for the Golden Triangle, handing them over to the Chinese boss. The victims then had their passports confiscated, were managed and monitored, and were not allowed to go out. They were forced to call Vietnam every day to scam people. Anyone who wanted to return home had to pay more than 100 million VND to "redeem themselves".

Tuyền and Hiếu lived together as husband and wife, opened a restaurant near the Golden Triangle. In April 2024, the two received more than VND280 million from 19 victims, promising to help them escape from the special zone. Hiếu and Tuyền gave a Laotian more than VND50 million to help them do this, but were unsuccessful. The remaining money was appropriated by the couple, used to pay debts and for personal expenses.

Receiving a call for help from the victims' families, at the end of May 2024, Ha Tinh Provincial Police coordinated with the professional departments of the Ministry of Public Security and Lao Police to send dozens of detectives to raid the Golden Triangle special zone, arresting Thanh and three accomplices. Authorities rescued dozens of Vietnamese people who were being "imprisoned" and brought them back to Vietnam safely.