HCMC – The police have seized over 5.4 kilograms of gold, US$670,000 and VND1 billion in cash, and other assets at the residences of suspects in the infamous repatriation flight scandal, the local media reported.

They were found during the police searches of the homes of Nguyen Anh Tuan, former deputy director of the Hanoi Police Department, and Hoang Van Hung, former department head of the Ministry of Public Security’s (MPS) Bureau of Investigation Security. The MPS investigators found that 21 out of 54 people involved in the Covid-19 repatriation flights case took bribes, which amounted to over VND180 billion. Of the total, Pham Trung Kien, former secretary of Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen, received the most, at VND43 billion. Other high-profile government officials that were charged with the same crime include former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung, former head of the Consular Department Nguyen Thi Huong Lan, and former deputy head of the Department Do Hoang Tung. They accepted bribes totaling VND21 billion, VND25 billion and VND12 billion, respectively.