The Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province police have arrested three men for allegedly trying to smuggle more than 120 people to Australia by boat.
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| The boat used for making the third trip. Chien’s boats were seized each time by the Australian authorities (Photo provided by the Ba Ria-Vung Tau police) |
Nguyen Dinh Chien and Nguyen Van Son of Nghe An Province and Nguyen Van Toan of Ba Ria-Vung Tau were taken in after they were deported by the Australian authorities.
They are charged with “organizing the illegal immigration of people abroad,” the police said.
Chien, the leader, had tried to smuggle people to Australia on three occasions but failed each time, they said.
He had confessed to visiting Australia many times, learning about the conditions in some Vietnamese communities there, and using the information to persuade his victims that they would get secure jobs and a stable life there, they said.
Each had to pay VND150 million (US$7,100), half in advance.
He would smuggle them into Australia in 13-17 days aboard a fishing boat he had bought for VND500-700 million.
In May last year he had allegedly taken 26 people to Lo Voi fishing port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s Long Dien District, where they had to pretend to be deep-sea fishermen to begin the illegal journey to Australia.
The boat used for making the third trip. Chien’s boats were seized each time by the Australian authorities.
But the Australian authorities seized the boat and held everyone aboard in a detention center. They also burned down the vessel.
Chien and a number of others were later sent back to Vietnam. But he organized two more trips in February and May this year but was caught both times.
Many of his victims reported to the provincial police, who launched an investigation and arrested Chien and his accomplices.
Only around 20 of his victims had been deported by Australia while the rest remain in detention camps awaiting expulsion, the provincial police said.
