In connection with a transnational diamond smuggling ring, Thanh Hoa Province Police said on July 22 that they had charged four more suspects with smuggling and seized a further 354 diamonds of various kinds, with a total value of nearly VND 68.8 billion (USD 2.65 million).
The suspects charged are Pham Thi Hong Duyen, born in 1994, head of the business department at Saigon Jewellery Company Limited (SJC); Tran Cong, born in 1975; Tran Huu Thanh Quan, born in 1994; and Hoang Trung Bac, born in 1992, all residing in Ho Chi Minh City.
The suspects in the case (Photo: Thanh Hoa Police).
Initial investigation findings show that between 2022 and 2024, Le Thuy Hang, while serving as general director of Saigon Jewellery Company Limited (SJC), instructed Pham Thi Hong Duyen to contact suppliers and order smuggled diamonds from Hong Kong, arrange their illegal transport into Vietnam and channel them into SJC's retail store network for sale.
Police said Pham Thi Hong Duyen was the person who directly handled orders and received the smuggled diamond supply. After the goods were brought into Vietnam, Tran Cong sold the diamonds to SJC, while Tran Huu Thanh Quan and Hoang Trung Bac directly delivered the smuggled diamonds to the company.
To conceal the origin of the goods and evade detection by the authorities, Pham Thi Hong Duyen used the personal details of multiple customers to enter them into SJC's management system as if the company had repurchased diamonds from individual customers. Through this method, the smuggled diamonds were given apparently legitimate paperwork before being put on sale.
After being legitimised in the management system, all of the smuggled diamonds were sent to Rong Vang SJC Company, SJC's appraisal unit, for assessment before being placed in storage and distributed to the market. To avoid detection, the suspects split the diamonds into smaller batches for each appraisal in order to legalise the paperwork and create a lawful cover for the smuggled goods.
The Investigation Police Agency under Thanh Hoa Province Police has seized an additional 354 diamonds of various kinds, with a total estimated value of about VND 68.8 billion (USD 2.65 million).
The suspects told investigators that between 2022 and 2024, the ring smuggled about 3,400 diamonds with an estimated total value of more than VND 500 billion (USD 19.23 million), into SJC's retail system for sale.
According to Thanh Hoa Province Police, Le Thuy Hang had previously been sentenced by a court to 22 years in prison for embezzlement and abuse of position and power while performing official duties.
