Authorities in central Ha Tinh Province have dismantled two covert mechanical workshops operating in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai, seizing a large quantity of components and machinery used to manufacture military-grade weapons.

The operation led investigators to dismantle a large-scale interprovincial network involved in the illegal production and trafficking of weapons.

According to Ha Tinh Police, the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Division had previously uncovered a criminal network suspected of illegally manufacturing, storing and trading military weapons across multiple provinces.

The suspects allegedly used anonymous Telegram and Viber accounts to communicate and conduct transactions, creating a closed supply chain that covered the production, assembly and distribution of firearms.

Coordinated police teams were simultaneously deployed in Lao Cai and Ninh Binh provinces, where officers arrested key suspects and seized a large number of PCP air rifles, shotguns, homemade firearm bodies, lead ammunition, and machinery used in weapons production.

As the investigation expanded, authorities identified several additional suspects operating in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai.

Ha Tinh Police mobilized 60 officers and coordinated with local police forces to simultaneously raid two mechanical workshops disguised as civilian manufacturing facilities.

At the sites, investigators seized 178 completed PCP air rifle bodies, 113 ammunition magazines, 300 aluminum alloy blanks, hundreds of firearm assembly components, four CNC milling machines, one CNC lathe and numerous other items linked to weapons production.

Police summoned five individuals for questioning, including Vu Manh Quyet, a resident of Dong Nai.

According to investigators, from 2023 until the network was uncovered, Quyet rented workshop facilities and invested in CNC milling and CNC lathe systems to manufacture components used in PCP air rifles.

The products were allegedly sold to numerous buyers both inside and outside Vietnam, with total transactions reaching thousands of orders.

Investigators also identified the role of Tran Huu Trang, who allegedly designed and manufactured PCP rifle body models known as C1, C2 and C3. The products were then sold to Nguyen Duc Hiep, identified as the alleged ringleader of the trafficking network who had been arrested earlier.

To date, authorities have prosecuted nine suspects on charges related to the illegal possession and sale of military-grade weapons.

The investigation remains ongoing as police continue to expand the case.

Thien Luong