HCMC – Dong Nai police have arrested Le Thanh Trung, a resident in Can Tho City, the suspected mastermind of a ring that mixed and sold 200 million liters of fake fuels.
Trung was determined to have falsified invoices to legitimize the origin of the fake fuels, the local media reported.
Having searched Trung’s house, the police seized six computers, 15 cartons of documents, two cars and cash. In addition, the seals of 27 shell companies established by Trung were confiscated.
On February 6, more than 500 police officers divided into 14 groups launched snap inspections into storehouses, gas stations, workplaces and houses of those allegedly involved in the ring in Dong Nai, Can Tho, Vinh Long, Long An, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and HCMC.
The police seized two 1,500-ton vessels, five barges, six tank trucks, 2.68 million liters of fuels, four barrels of chemicals, more than VND100 billion, 50 land use rights certificates and 12 cartons of documents.
According to initial results of an investigation, the ring provided an average of over one million liters of fake fuels a day to the market. Since August 2020, more than 200 million liters of fake fuels had been sold.
The Dong Nai Police Department has filed charges against the case, accusing the suspects of smuggling, producing and trading fake products and illegally trading invoices.
In addition to Trung, the department had earlier arrested 35 others allegedly involved in the ring.
