Four suspected leading a gambling ring. — Photo bizlive.vn

HƯNG YÊN — Four people suspected of leading a gambling ring in the northern province of Hưng Yên have been arrested, reported online newspaper vietnamplus.vn yesterday.

The gambling ring was worth more than VNĐ2 trillion (US$85.5 million), Hưng Yên Police said.

Police arrested Phạm Công Bằng, 29, Phạm Công Biên, 31, Đào Viết Lâm, 20, Trần Đức Khiển, 27.

Raiding their office, the police seized 15 mobile phones, 3 PCs, a laptop, a large amount of cash, several bank cards and books.

The police blocked the suspect’s bank accounts.

The total amount of transactions were worth VNĐ2 trillion, covering 13 branches nationwide, police said.

Bằng was identified as the leader of the ring.

The police discovered that the four people had been working as second-level agents for gambling websites in which gamblers use real money to buy virtual money for gambling.

The winners then receive real money converted from the virtual cash.

The four people arrested were also involved in a gambling ring worth VNĐ1 trillion (US$42.7 million) which was discovered in January.

Since January, the police have taken into custody 19 suspects from Hưng Yên Province’s Kim Động, Khoái Châu, Tiên Lũ and Văn Lâm districts and Hưng Yên city, Lâm Đồng Province’s Đà Lạt City, Hà Nội’s Sóc Sơn and Mê Linh districts, and Tuyên Quang Proivince’s Yên Sơn District.

The suspects had moved to Đà Lạt City to operate an online gambling ring which covered Hưng Yên and many other provinces nationwide, according to police.

Nguyễn Văn Toán, the head of the ring, told police that he had acted as an agent for a gambling website operated by a group of Vietnamese living abroad.—VNS