Vietnam police bust Chinese-made slingshot parts trafficking ring

Investigators and police officers in Hop Tien Commune identified 33-year-old Le Duc Anh, a resident of Tan Ninh Commune and an employee of passenger transport service supplier Giang Thang, as a key transporter of large quantities of slingshot gun parts from Hanoi to Thanh Hoa for resale, according to the provincial Department of Public Security.

Officers caught Anh red-handed delivering a shipment of components to a customer in Hop Tien Commune on July 17.

Officers seized 24 plastic grips, 24 trigger handles, 24 metal frames with sliding rails, 24 frame supports, 96 cable support posts, 24 steel cables, 96 rubber bands, along with numerous screws, springs, and other parts used to assemble slingshot guns.

Investigators determined that the shipment belonged to 24-year-old Dang Quyen Anh, a resident of Phu Xuyen Commune in Hanoi.

Police said Quyen Anh had purchased the components from Pham Van Ba, 35, who also lives in Phu Xuyen Commune, before arranging transportation to Thanh Hoa for sale.

Police Hop Tien Commune and officers in Hanoi summoned both Quyen Anh and Ba for questioning.

Ba admitted that he had searched online for suppliers and purchased slingshot gun components through short-form video entertainment platform TikTok from Do Manh Tung, a 39-year-old resident of Quan Trieu Ward in Thai Nguyen Province.

He allegedly assembled complete slingshot guns for sale or resold the individual parts for profit.

Police later searched Tung's residence and confiscated a large cache of parts used to assemble slingshot guns.

The seizure included 739 boxes of slingshot gun components, 97 sets of large-caliber accessories, 200 sets of smaller accessories, 178 metal gun frames, 925 aluminum extension bars, 840 sliding frame bars, 197 ball-bearing triggers, 20 boxes of ball-bearing crossbow accessories, 20 boxes of arrow crossbow accessories, 40 kilograms of arrows, steel ball bearings, and other related equipment.

At the police station, Tung confessed that he recognized growing demand for slingshot guns among hunters and therefore sourced the components from Chinese suppliers before stockpiling them at his residence.

He then promoted the products by posting videos on TikTok to attract customers.

Once orders were placed, he separated the parts into individual shipments and sent them through courier services or passenger bus operators to buyers across the country in an effort to evade detection and generate illegal profits.

Following the investigation, police in Thanh Hoa Province warned the public against buying, selling, transporting, storing, assembling, or using homemade firearms, hunting weapons, rudimentary weapons, sporting weapons, or related components.

Such activities pose significant risks to public security and public order and may result in criminal prosecution under Article 306 of Vietnam's Penal Code.

Police also urged transport companies and freight operators to carefully inspect and verify shipments before accepting them, warning businesses not to facilitate the illegal transportation of weapons, explosives, support tools, or related components for financial gain.