The three passports with fake Irish visas. — Photo from the police

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese police have dismantled a ring allegedly using counterfeit Irish visas to help Vietnamese citizens travel to the UK illegally for work, with each person reportedly paying up to VNĐ900 million (US$35,000).

The case came to light after immigration officers at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City detected three Vietnamese passengers using suspected fake Irish visas while preparing to leave Việt Nam for Singapore.

The Immigration Department said on September 30 that the discovery led investigators to identify an individual directly involved in organising the illegal departure of the three people. A criminal case has since been initiated on charges of “organising for others to flee abroad” under Vietnamese law.

The three passengers were identified as L.M.A., born in 2001; L.T.L.A., born in 2005; and T.C.B., born in 2006.

According to the initial investigation, the three had plans to travel to the UK and Ireland to seek employment. Their families contacted Vietnamese intermediaries in Việt Nam and overseas, who allegedly arranged and guided the preparation of documents for them.

The agreed fee was between VNĐ700 million and VNĐ900 million ($27,000–35,000) per person.

Under the scheme, the three were given Vietnamese passports bearing Irish visas and travelled to Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport to depart for Singapore, and members of the network would continue to arrange their onward journey to the UK.

The three passengers reportedly told investigators that they had never appeared at an Irish diplomatic mission to apply for the visas.

Police said the suspected organisers had affixed counterfeit Irish visas directly to the passengers' passports, creating the appearance of legitimate travel documents in an attempt to circumvent immigration controls.

After the discovery of the suspected fake visas, the airport's police reconnaissance team expanded its investigation and coordinated with police in the central provinces of Nghệ An and Thanh Hóa to identify people connected with the case.

Investigators subsequently identified N.T.D., a resident of Nghệ An Province, as an alleged direct link in the operation.

D. initially denied involvement, police said. However, after investigators presented evidence collected during the inquiry, D. allegedly admitted to receiving the passports and affixing counterfeit Irish visas to them.

D. also allegedly told investigators that the operation was carried out under instructions from a Vietnamese national living overseas, with the aim of arranging for the three people to leave Việt Nam and subsequently travel to the UK and Ireland to work illegally.

The authorities said the operation was conducted for illicit financial gain.

Investigators are continuing to clarify the involvement of other individuals in Việt Nam and overseas, as well as the full scale and financial transactions of the alleged network. — VNS