The suspects arrested by the Quảng Trị Provincial Police. Photo baoquangtri.vn

QUẢNG TRỊ — Police in Quảng Trị Province have broken up a large-scale forgery network that produced and traded counterfeit documents nationwide, including fake identity cards, driving licences and land-use certificates, after months of investigation.

According to the provincial police, the ring operated with a high degree of sophistication and coordination. To avoid detection, its members conducted transactions exclusively online through private groups on social media platforms such as Telegram. Each member was assigned to a specific stage of the operation — from advertising and customer recruitment to digital editing, printing, signature forgery and shipping — forming a closed production and distribution chain.

Investigators said the group used advanced colour printing technology, laminating machines and image-editing software to create counterfeit documents that closely resembled authentic ones. Remarkably, most members did not know one another personally and lived in different provinces and cities. Their only communication was through coded channels, making it difficult for authorities to trace the network.

At the police station, key suspects Phạm Văn Công and Nguyễn Văn Tình admitted to being responsible for forging diplomas and certificates. They said the operation was divided into three main teams: an “order-taking” group that collected client information, an “imaging” group that designed and edited fake documents for approval, and a “printing” group that finalised the products and delivered them using ride-hailing and delivery apps such as XanhSM, Grab and Be.

In a short period, the ring produced tens of thousands of counterfeit documents, including driving licences, university and high-school diplomas, and land-use right certificates. These fake papers were distributed to customers across the country. The suspects have been prosecuted, while those who bought or used the documents for illegal purposes face administrative fines or criminal charges depending on the severity of their offences.

Major Hoàng Trung Thành of the Criminal Police Department warned that individuals using forged papers could be prosecuted under Article 341 of the Penal Code for “using forged documents of organisations or agencies”, which carries criminal penalties.

During simultaneous raids, police detained five suspects — Phạm Văn Công, Phạm Văn Hùng, Đặng Duy Tuấn and Nguyễn Văn Tình (all from Ninh Bình Province) and Trần Văn Đạt (from Hà Nội). Searches of their homes uncovered extensive evidence, including 11 mobile phones, seven computer monitors, six CPUs, a card printer, other specialised printers, numerous hard drives, internet devices, and tens of thousands of blanks, stickers and preprinted dossiers used for fake diplomas and certificates. Officers also seized hundreds of thousands of digital files related to the production of counterfeit documents.

The Quảng Trị Police said the successful operation not only dismantled a sophisticated forgery ring but also prevented widespread use of fake credentials that could undermine state management, public trust and social order. — VNS