VietNamNet Bridge – Police on September 5 arrested 55 foreigners and three Vietnamese at four guest houses and hotels in Tuy Hoa City, in the central province of Phu Yen over a high-tech crime case.
Colonel Nguyen Trung Nghia, chair of Phu Yen Province Police Department’s Office, said that police have detained 58 suspects, including 27 Chinese, 28 Taiwanese and three local people working as employees to care for food, rent and interpreting job.

Police have seized high-tech equipment including 18 laptops, 108 land-line phones, 14 cell phones, 13 radio devices, 25 Internet connection hub, 14 network ports, 10 wireless routers, a printer and other devices.

According to colonel Nghia, in early August, Phu Yen police detected a group of Chinese and Taiwanese who rent houses in Phu Yen province and had dubious activities.

Investigation reveals that this group of suspects had used the Internet and VoiceIP talk service to find information about the victims - often those committing frauds - and then disguised as the Chinese or Taiwanese authorities to request the victim to provide bank account numbers or transfer money to their accounts for investigation. The victims of those suspects are mainly the Chinese in Vietnam.

In the morning of September 5, over 200 policemen from the Ministry of Public Security and Phu Yen Province Police Department made a raid into four guest houses and hotels in Tuy Hoa City. They caught in the act the suspects were using hi-tech equipment to perform crime acts.

The suspects would be kept in custody for investigation of violations of Vietnam laws, such as failing to register for temporary residency and using high technology to commit crimes, Nghia said.

The operations of this group of foreigners have violated political and information security of Vietnam, he added.

These suspects perform hi-tech crime in Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Thailand and some Southeast Asian countries.

Manh Hoai Nam