The operation followed an investigation by Ha Tinh Police's Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department, which detected Telegram and Viber accounts suspected of trading gun parts in large volumes.
Authorities launched a criminal investigation after identifying the network as a major interprovincial weapons trafficking operation.
In April, police arrested suspects in Lao Cai and Ninh Binh provinces and seized firearm components and weapon assembly equipment. Nine people were later charged with illegally possessing and trading military weapons.
Further investigations led police to two workshops in HCM City and Dong Nai that allegedly manufactured firearm components on a large scale under the guise of mechanical businesses.
Police seized 178 PCP air rifle bodies, hundreds of components and machinery during coordinated raids, and questioned five suspects.
Investigators said Vu Manh Quyet, a resident of Dong Nai City, had invested in a modern production line from 2023 to manufacture PCP air rifle components for distribution to customers inside and outside Vietnam.
Police also identified Tran Huu Trang as the designer and manufacturer of several PCP rifle body models supplied to Nguyen Duc Hiep, the alleged leader of the trafficking network who had been arrested earlier.
Authorities said the raids dismantled a major weapons manufacturing and trafficking network operating across multiple provinces.
The investigation is continuing.