On June 30, Lao Cai Provincial Police said they had worked with officers from the Lao Cai International Border Guard Station to transfer the suspects to the Honghe Prefecture Public Security Bureau in China for further investigation and legal proceedings.
Earlier this month, authorities discovered that the group had entered Vietnam from Cambodia through the Moc Bai Border Gate in Tay Ninh Province before travelling to Lao Cai Province. The suspects rented several rooms at the Song Hong View Hotel in Lao Cai Ward.
Investigators found that the 19 suspects had previously been involved in online fraud operations in Cambodia. The group was allegedly led by Wang Xiang Sheng, born in 1981, from Fujian Province, China.
According to police, the group targeted Chinese citizens seeking loans by posing as employees of financial applications and guiding victims through fake loan procedures before defrauding them of money.
On June 12, police raided the Song Hong View Hotel while the group was allegedly carrying out the operation, arresting all 19 suspects.
Authorities seized 23 laptop computers, 26 mobile phones, eight 5G signal transmission devices, 16 USB drives and other documents and items believed to be connected to the alleged fraud scheme.