The discovery was announced on May 21 by the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department following a large-scale inspection campaign targeting crime and public security violations across the city.

According to the city’s Immigration Management Division, immigration officers and local police intensified inspections in areas with large foreign nationals during a 45-day crime crackdown campaign.

They found 85 Chinese nationals staying at a hotel in Thuan Giao Ward along with hundreds of electronic devices. Among them, 17 had allegedly entered Vietnam illegally.

Initial investigations showed the group was led by a Chinese couple identified as H.G. (born in 1989) and Q.M. (born in 1998). The pair reportedly rented the hotel for about US$12,000 per month to accommodate the group and install equipment for operations.

H.G. told investigators he had previously worked as a dormitory manager for a company in Cambodia before being assigned to Vietnam to arrange accommodation and install equipment for the group.

The couple entered Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat International Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) in early May and then gathered other members in the city. However, the group was discovered before operations could begin.

Police seized around 400 electronic devices, including desktop computers, mobile phones and tablets, all allegedly transported from Cambodia into Vietnam.

Investigators said most members came from Guangzhou and Guangxi in China and entered Vietnam through various routes. Some reportedly crossed the border by small boats or overland routes, while others were transported from Cambodia into Vietnam by motorbike through unofficial crossings.

Several individuals told police their passports had been confiscated upon arrival before they were taken directly to the hotel.

In a separate case, immigration officers also discovered 30 Filipino nationals staying suspiciously at a hotel in the Cho Lon (Big Market) area. The group said they had previously lived in Cambodia, with some arriving from Malaysia, before being brought to Ho Chi Minh City by five Taiwanese individuals. They later admitted to involvement in a cross-border scam network in Cambodia.

On May 20, police also inspected an apartment on Nguyen Huu Canh Street and found 11 Chinese nationals living there with multiple internet-connected electronic devices suspected to be linked to cybercrime activities.

Online scams cost Vietnamese victims nearly US$1.6 billion, say police

VOV.VN - Vietnamese victims have lost nearly VND40 trillion (about US$1.6 billion) to more than 24,000 online scams since 2020, as cybercriminals increasingly use sophisticated tactics and exploit psychological vulnerabilities, according to the Ministry of Public Security.