HCMC – Traffic police officers at a Covid-19 checkpoint in Ham Tan District, Binh Thuan Province on September 12 found 15 people hidden in the back of a refrigerated truck while they were escaping from virus-hit areas to return to their hometowns.

The truck had travelled for over 50 kilometers from Dong Nai Province and passed through many checkpoints before being detected, the local media reported. Le Van Tuan, 39, a resident of Binh Thuan’s Ham Thuan Nam District, was the driver of the truck. The 15 people inside the truck, including a child, are residents of Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Ha Tinh and Nghe An provinces. All of them had valid negative Covid-19 test certificates. Tuan said he had been hired to transport these people from the Long Khanh Coach Station in Dong Nai Province for VND700,000 each. The police also found two cars parked in Ham Tan District to pick up these 15 people. The drivers of the two cars said they had contacted Tuan to transport these passengers through the checkpoints. Tuan and the 15 people have been asked to return to Dong Nai.