Vietnam police bust major illegal weapon manufacturing, trafficking ring

The case, directly overseen by Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Long, head of the Criminal Investigation Authority, marked one of the country’s largest crackdowns on illegal arms dealing to date.

The investigation spanned over a year, with the participation of hundreds of officers.

Nearly 200 officers across Lai Chau, Ha Tinh, Bac Ninh, and Hai Phong in northern Vietnam were deployed on Saturday to execute simultaneous raids and summonses for 33 individuals implicated in the illegal manufacture, possession, and distribution of military weapons.

The illegal operation was masterminded by Ngo Quang Vy.

According to investigators, Vy orchestrated the procurement, modification, and distribution of various firearms across the country, with total transactions reaching tens of billions of Vietnamese dong.

Police seized 58 firearms, some 130,000 PCP air rifle pellets, thousands of gun components and basic weapon parts, and numerous machines, tools, documents, and electronic devices used in the manufacturing and sale of firearms.

Vy confessed that since 2019, he had been importing air rifles, lead ammunition, and parts from foreign e-commerce platforms.

He also acquired mechanical tools to modify and assemble the weapons, enhancing their lethality before selling them to buyers across the country.

To avoid detection, from early 2023, the group rented two properties in then-Hai Duong Province, where they stored weapons and set up equipment for manufacturing.

Vy and his accomplices utilized social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, Viber, and Zalo to promote their products, provide assembly tutorials, and coordinate sales and delivery nationwide.

Investigators estimated that the group illegally handled over 3,500 orders in early 2025 alone, with a significant number of buyers located in mountainous areas where air rifles are often used for hunting.

Preliminary forensic analysis confirmed that the seized firearms and components are classified as military-grade weapons.

As part of the broader operation, authorities have also conducted public awareness campaigns, urging citizens to understand the dangers of possessing such weapons.

These efforts have already led to the voluntary surrender of 10 firearms.

Police are calling on individuals currently in possession of illegal weapons to turn them in voluntarily and cooperate with officers to benefit from leniency provisions under the law.

US$1 = VND26,400