The nine arrested include Chu Ba Chung, 39, a Vietnamese Canadian who is the ring leader, 26-year-old Truong Ngoc Mai, 28-year-old Nguyen Vu Khai Hoang, Do Thi Minh Tam, Tran Kim Loan, Mai Thi Ngan, Diep Hoang Linh, Nguyen Trung Quoc, and Nguyen Tan Thanh.
According to the municipal police they caught six of the ring on September 13, 2022, and seized 56.50 kilos of meth and 39 boxes of heroin after months of investigations.
On September 16, 2022, Truong Ngoc Mai was arrested while she was delivering nearly 12 kilos of meth on Do Ngoc Thanh Street in District 5. Searching her home on Nguyen Khoai Street, District 4, police found another 63.50 kilos of other drugs including heroin, ketamine, and meth.
In raids of another house of Mai on Ton That Thuyet Street, District 4, police also found a total of nearly 31 kilos of drugs of different types.
Following Mai's statement, police found that Chu Ba Chung was the leader of the ring who directly sent drugs from Cambodia to HCM City for Mai and other members to deliver to customers.
Chung was arrested on September 21, 2022, while trying to hide in Nha Trang City in the central province of Khanh Hoa.
According to Chung, he suffered major gambling losses in Cambodia in 2019. As he could not pay his debts to a man in Cambodia whose identity has not been verified, Chung turned to trafficking drugs to customers in HCM City for the man, earning between USD100-200 per delivery. Chung started sending between 5-30 kilos of drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam from 2020.
To expand operations, Chung hired Mai to traffic the drugs and their ring continued to expand.
Nearly 20 members of the ring have been detained for investigation and nearly 95 kilos of drugs have been seized so far.
Police are further investigating the case.