The suspects include the ring leader Vay Tuyet Mai, 40, residing in HCM City; Tran Quang Phat, 44, residing in HCM City, and Nguyen Thi Nho, 38, residing in Dak Nong Province.
Initial investigation showed that Mai, who is of Chinese origin and has a Chinese husband, got acquainted in late 2022 with a Vietnamese woman who got married to a Chinese man and was living in the country. That woman told Mai that many men in China were willing to pay high to have a wife from Vietnam and Mai would be paid between VND200-300 million (USD12,305) if successfully sending a woman from Vietnam to be sold to a man in China.
Mai contacted Phat, Nho, and two others, Tran Sieu Khiem, 64, residing in HCM City; and Huynh Hong Chi, 40, residing in the southernmost province of Ca Mau to look for women.
The ring members told the women that they would be introduced to get married to rich Chinese men and their families would receive gifts of between VND80-VND120 million from the Chinese husbands.
The traffickers then held a meeting between the Chinese buyers and the victims via the Internet or in person.
Once the victims arrived in China, they were held against their will or forced to become the wives of local men. If the victim did not agree then they would be required to pay compensation for the entire amount of money that the Chinese buyers had paid to the traffickers.
Some victims managed to flee and return to Vietnam or asked their relatives in Vietnam to report to the police about the ring.
At the police station, Mai admitted that since May this year, they had successfully sent dozens of Vietnamese women who were from HCM City, Ca Mau, and Dak Nong to China.
Searching their residences, police also found and seized ID cards and other personal documents of several women as the ring was completing procedures to traffic seven other victims.
Police are further investigating the case.
