2 large illegal military-grade weapon factories dismantled in Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City

Ha Tinh’s cybersecurity investigators uncovered the network through intelligence gathered online, finding that suspects in the racket used numerous unregistered Telegram and Viber accounts to communicate and conduct transactions.

The group allegedly established a closed operation covering every stage of the process, from manufacturing and assembly to distribution of firearms.

Police teams were then deployed to the northern provinces of Lao Cai and Ninh Binh, where officers arrested key suspects believed to be the ring leaders and seized a large quantity of PCP air rifles, shotguns, homemade gun bodies, lead ammunition, and machinery used in weapon production.

As police expanded their investigation, they summoned additional individuals for questioning and confiscated more weapons and gun-making components.

Authorities subsequently charged nine suspects with illegally possessing and trading military weapons.

Further inquiries revealed that several individuals connected to the network were operating in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai City.

Police forces carried out raids on two large mechanical workshops that had allegedly been operating secretly under the guise of household goods production.

Investigators also summoned five individuals for questioning, including Vu Manh Quyet, Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhu, Nguyen Cong Quy, Nguyen Cong Danh, and Truong Anh Tai.

During the raids, police seized 178 finished PCP air rifle bodies, 113 ammunition magazines, 300 aluminum alloy blanks, hundreds of firearm assembly components, four CNC milling machines, one CNC lathe, two desktop computers, and numerous other pieces of evidence.

Initial statements indicated that since 2023, Quyet had rented workshop space and invested in CNC milling and turning equipment to manufacture components used in PCP air rifles.

The products were sold to customers at home and abroad, generating thousands of orders.

Authorities described the operation as highly organized, creating a large-scale supply chain for weapons components.

Based on statements from the suspects, investigators identified Tran Huu Trang, a resident of Dong Nai City, as the individual responsible for designing and producing PCP C1, C2 and C3 rifle bodies, which authorities described as critical components of military weapons.

The components designed and manufactured by Trang were allegedly supplied to Nguyen Duc Hiep, identified as the leader of the network who had been arrested earlier in the investigation.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Quoc Hung, deputy head of the Ha Tinh police department, said the case involved a large-scale criminal operation spanning multiple localities and employing highly sophisticated methods.

He emphasized that dismantling these facilities has helped cut off a major supply source of illegal military weapons, ensuring political security and public safety nationwide.