Investigators have determined that the total amount of money involved in the drug trafficking network headed by notorious crime boss Vu Hoang Oanh (born in 1957, also known as Oanh 'Ha', originally from Hai Phong) amounts to approximately 1,400 billion VND.

The Supreme People's Procuracy has just completed the indictment of 35 defendants in a case of illegal drug trading, transporting, and storing narcotics smuggled from Cambodia into Vietnam for distribution in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Hanoi, and neighboring provinces.

Among those charged is Oanh, a notorious figure in the criminal world. Oanh 'Ha' has been in and out of prison multiple times and is the older sister of Dung 'Ha', a former gang leader in Hai Phong.

Oanh 'Ha' was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court for "Illegal Trading of Narcotics" and was granted amnesty on September 1, 2009. In October 2011, she was sentenced to another four years by the Supreme People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City for "Organizing Gambling or Hosting Gambling."

On February 10, 2015, the People's Court of Da Lat (Lam Dong Province) sentenced Oanh to 18 months in prison for "Gambling." In September 2022, Oanh 'Ha' was once again arrested in connection with a case involving the illegal trading, transporting, and storing of narcotics from Cambodia into Vietnam.

According to the Supreme People's Procuracy, this case involves a particularly serious cross-border drug trafficking operation. The criminal acts committed by the defendants spanned a long period and involved numerous participants. The suspects used social media networks such as Signal, adopting nicknames like "Colombia" and "Mosscau" or "Mosscau Russia" to avoid detection.

To ensure secrecy in their operations, the network members used the Signal app and phone numbers from the United States or Cambodia to communicate about the drug transactions. They also used a shared account under the name Hoang Cong Tu to handle payments related to the purchase and transportation of drugs.

Investigators have determined that the total value of the drug transactions conducted by this network amounts to approximately 1,400 billion VND.

The indictment reveals that from March 2018 to November 2022, the defendants successfully transported and traded an enormous quantity of narcotics, including 336,184.691 grams of heroin; 115,040.123 grams of ketamine; 256,947.73 grams of methamphetamine; 43,836.053 grams of MDMA; 2,114.26 grams of methamphetamine + ketamine; 342.88 grams of ketamine + 4-CEC; 29.45 grams of ketamine + methamphetamine + 4-CEC; 266.6 grams of ketamine + Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol; 29.8 grams of ketamine + MDMA + Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol; and 1.4427 grams of ketamine + phenobarbital + diazepam.

Defendant Vu Hoang Oanh is identified as the mastermind and leader of the drug network. She directly conducted and instructed the other defendants to illegally transport and trade 282,302.154 grams of heroin; 210,814.08 grams of methamphetamine; 99,100.6 grams of ketamine; 342.88 grams of ketamine + 4-CEC; 283.92 grams of methamphetamine + ketamine; 29.45 grams of ketamine + methamphetamine + 4-CEC; and 33,293.85 grams of MDMA. The total volume amounts to 626,166.934 grams.

The Supreme People's Procuracy noted that since Oanh has not confessed to her crimes, it remains unclear how much illegal profit she and her associates have obtained.

One of Oanh 'Ha's most trusted accomplices was Nguyen Van Nam. Regarding the illicit profits, Nam testified that Oanh paid him either in cash or via bank transfers during the late months of 2019.

From early 2020 onward, Oanh transferred 300 to 500 million VND per trip, depending on the amount of drugs concealed in cars or engine blocks. The payments were transferred from the account under the name Hoang Cong Tu to Nguyen Van Nam's account.

Nam claims he cannot recall exactly how much money he received from Oanh. However, according to bank records, from late 2019 to September 2022, the account under the name Hoang Cong Tu transferred a total of over 15.5 billion VND to Nam. Nam used part of this money to pay others for transporting drugs.

T. Nhung