Defendants at the court on Monday. — Photo touitre.vn

HUẾ CITY — The People’s Court of Huế City has sentenced four people for their connection to an overseas scam ring, convicting them of human trafficking, trafficking of minors and organising illegal entry into Việt Nam.

The defendants include Trương Ngọc Huyền, 17, from Phú Xuân Ward in Huế City; Nguyễn Thị Hồng Ngân, 24; Nguyễn Vương Tấn Trọng, 22; and Nguyễn Công Lễ, 23 — all originally from Bình Phước Province, now part of Đồng Nai Province.

The court on Monday sentenced Ngân to 13 years and 3 months in prison for human trafficking, trafficking of persons under 16, and organising illegal entry. Huyền received 7 years and 6 months for two counts of trafficking. Trọng and Lễ were each sentenced to 15 months for facilitating illegal entry.

According to the indictment, in 2023, Huyền was lured to Cambodia by an unidentified man to work for a fraudulent organisation known as Thế Kỷ (Century) Group, based in the Chinatown area of Sihanoukville Province.

At the operation, Huyền was tasked with recruiting workers under the direct supervision of Ngân.

Between May 12 and June 10, she used multiple Facebook accounts to lure four Vietnamese including two minors aged 13 and 15 to Cambodia, where they were handed over to the scam group.

In return, Ngân paid Huyền a total of VNĐ30 million (over US$1,140), including VNĐ20 million via bank transfer and $412 in cash. However, Huyền did not receive payment for two victims who escaped the operation shortly after arriving.

In June 2024, Huyền paid VNĐ3.8 million to Lễ to arrange her illegal return to Việt Nam. Lễ used a contact on Telegram to smuggle her through the Mộc Bài border gate in Tây Ninh Province and arranged a taxi to HCM City. After expenses, he made a profit of VNĐ600,000.

At the same time, a 13-year-old victim attempted to flee Cambodia but was told they had to pay $700 in compensation and an additional VNĐ8.32 million to return home. The victim’s mother transferred a total of VNĐ25.32 million to Trọng, who coordinated with Ngân to smuggle the child across the border. Both profited VNĐ500,000.

At the trial, the defendants admitted their crimes and pleaded for reduced sentences. — VNS