Police have arrested eight members of a ring that allegedly traded hundreds of millions of counterfeit đồng between China and southwestern Việt Nam, according to Cần Thơ City’s security investigation department. — Photo baoquangninh.com.vn

CẦN THƠ — Police have arrested eight members of a ring that allegedly traded hundreds of millions of counterfeit đồng between China and southwestern Việt Nam, according to Cần Thơ City’s security investigation department.

Local police said on Wednesday that the leader of the group was Hoàng Thị Thủy, 36. The other members were Nguyễn Công Chung, 44; Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thủy, 47; Nguyễn Thanh Sơn, 24; Hồ Thị Lệ Thu, 45; Dương Hải Long, 24; Nguyễn Tuấn Em, 30; and Trương Việt Hùng, 34.

The police have sent documents to the People’s Procuracy, where they could be charged with selling, transporting and buying counterfeit money.

Sơn, who was caught by police at the Cần Thơ bus station in January, told police that he had met Hoàng Thị Thủy seven times and spent VNĐ310 million (US$13,900) since May 2015 to buy fake money from her.

He told the police that a million in counterfeit đồng could be bought for only VNĐ400,000 ($18).

Chung and Thanh Thủy had spent VNĐ580 million ($26,000) on counterfeit money. They then traded all the money in VNĐ200,000 ($9) denominations.

Based on information received from Sơn, Chung and Thanh Thủy, Cần Thơ City police worked with Đà Nẵng police and later arrested Hoàng Thị Thủy in Đà Nẵng in January.

Initially, she did not admit to any crime, but the police were able to prove that Thủy had traded more than VNĐ900 million ($40,356) within her group.— VNS