Sì and Dơ reenacting at the scene of the crime. Photo courtesy of Lào Cai Newspaper

LÀO CAI — Three people have been arrested for the alleged involvement in the trafficking of women in areas close to the Việt Nam - China border.

The Lào Cai Border Guards Command announced the arrest on Tuesday.

These individuals are said to have befriended their victims via social media platforms, engaging them in romantic liaisons. After building trust, the culprits invite the victims to their homes, entertain them with sightseeing trips, and subsequently organise their illicit transportation across the border, leading to their sale.

On July 11, a victim, Lý Thị M., 20, made a report to the International Border Control Station in Lào Cai. She claimed to have been deceived by a group of individuals and subsequently transported to China to be sold. M. is a member of the Mông ethnic group, living in Mù Cang Chải District, Yên Bái Province.

Based on the victim's report, the Lào Cai Provincial Border Guard Command assigned investigators to handle the case.

On July 28, the Lào Cai Border Guards Command summoned the individuals for questioning.

They suspects were Thào A Dơ, 35, Sùng A Sì, 50, and Hoàng Thị Duyến, 32, all living in Lào Cai.

In mid-May 2023, the suspects reached an agreement with a Chinese man named Pao to find and transport women to China for sale.

After the agreement was made, Duyến contacted Sì to find the victims. Sì agreed and informed Thào A Dơ that each woman they sold could yield around VNĐ10-20 million (US$421-842), which they would share among themselves. Dơ agreed to the plan.

Through Facebook, Dơ got to know M. and began to court her.

Dơ claimed he wanted to marry M. and on July 10, he invited M. to visit his home in Lào Cai.

Dơ told M. that his family ran a clothing store in China, but his real intention was to deceive her and take her to China for sale. M. agreed to go along with the plan.

Subsequently, Dơ rode his motorbike to Mù Cang Chải District, Yên Bái Province, to pick up M. and take her to Lào Cai.

Dơ then contacted his accomplices to arrange travel documents for M.'s journey to China and handed her over to Sì and Duyến for the necessary procedures to cross the border.

Once all the paperwork was completed, Duyến personally took M. to exit the country through the border gate and handed her over to Pao on the Chinese side.

Upon arriving at Pao's lodging in Hekou, China, M. realised that she had been deceived and decided to take advantage of a moment of carelessness from Pao to take her travel documents back and escape back to Vieejt Nam through the border gate.

M. then reported the incident and exposed the individuals.

Based on M.'s report and the investigation, on July 31, 2023, the Border Guard Command of Lào Cai Province decided to initiate criminal proceedings and conduct further investigations into the matter. — VNS