Three suspects (from left) Trương Văn Tiền, Nguyễn Năng Tuấn and Vũ Văn Tiệm were found to have illegally traded explosive precursors in the northern province of Hải Dương. — VNA/VNS Photo

HẢI DƯƠNG  —  Police in the northern province of Hải Dương on Sunday arrested two men from Hải Phòng for allegedly trading illegal explosive precursors and detonators.

The suspects are Trương Văn Tiền, born in 1960 and Vũ Văn Tiệm, born in 1962, both residents of Hải Phòng City’s Thủy Nguyên District.

On the evening of April 11, Hải Dương Police found 120 bags containing three tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate and 206 bags containing over 5.1 tonnes of Diammonium phosphate in a truck at Dinh Ferry Station in Thái Thịnh Commune. The chemical substances are known as explosive precursors.

The truck driver Nguyễn Năng Tuấn, born in 1997, of Bắc Giang Province, told police that he was hired by Tiền to carry the substances.

Tiền said that he bought the substances and 217 detonators from Vũ Văn Tiệm who used to work at a stone mining site. Tiền paid Tiệm VNĐ16,000 per kilo of explosives and VNĐ6,000 for a detonator.

Tiền said that he planned to sell the goods to a man in Chí Linh District for coal mining.

Previously, Tiền was jailed for 12 years on the same charge – illegally trading explosive precursors. — VNS