Four charged in Phu Tho over alleged transnational scam base

Police in Phu Tho Province have launched criminal proceedings and detained three suspects accused of organising the illegal stay of foreigners in Vietnam.

The defendants include Zhao Wei Zhong, a Chinese national born in 1989, along with Tran Thi Thu Huong, born in 2002, from Tan An Ward, Bac Ninh Province, and Nguyen Thanh Long, born in 1983, from Giang Vo Ward, Hanoi.

A fourth suspect, Pham Dinh Nam, born in 1999 and also from Tan An Ward, Bac Ninh Province, was charged with the same offence but was placed under a travel restriction order rather than being held in custody.

According to authorities, investigators previously detected suspicious activities involving the rental of multiple resorts, farmstays and village-style accommodation facilities in Hanoi, Lao Cai and Phu Tho Province to house large numbers of foreign nationals for extended periods.

Given the complexity of the case and its potential implications for public security, the leadership of Phu Tho Provincial Police directed its security investigation agency to urgently examine the operation.

Investigators determined that the individuals involved were linked to online fraud organisations based in Cambodia.

During the investigation, police seized 73 desktop computers, 134 mobile phones, 34 USB storage devices, 20 Wi-Fi transmission units, three SIM cards, five laptop computers, two tablet devices, and hundreds of chairs, desks, bunk beds and mattresses, along with other equipment believed to support large-scale operations.

Phu Tho Provincial Police said the timely discovery and disruption of the scheme was particularly significant because the personnel, facilities and technical equipment intended for the alleged fraud operation had only recently been assembled and had not yet been put into operation.

Authorities are continuing their investigation into the case.