Nguyen Thi Hoa set up a closed gold smuggling ring, where members were all relatives of the family. The ring operated mostly in Lao Bao, an area bordering Laos.

When the domestic gold market is in short supply but gold cannot be imported through official channels, there is a risk of smuggling.

As gold prices in Vietnam are higher than international prices, smugglers are trying every possible way to slip gold into Vietnam to seek profits.