HA TINH: Police in the central province of Ha Tinh have dismantled two large-scale illegal weapons manufacturing facilities operating in the two southern cities – HCM City and Dong Nai – as part of an expanded investigation into a firearms production and trafficking network.
The provincial police department told the media that officers had deployed 60 personnel in three task forces to simultaneously raid the two workshops in coordination with authorities in HCM City and Dong Nai.
The facilities operated covertly under the guise of civilian mechanical workshops. The premises displayed no signs or advertisements but were equipped with modern CNC (computer numerical control) milling and turning machines and extensive surveillance camera systems designed to evade detection, according to investigators.
During the raids, police seized 178 finished PCP air rifle bodies, 113 ammunition magazines, 300 aluminium alloy blanks, hundreds of firearm assembly components, four CNC milling machines, one CNC lathe, two desktop computers, and several other evidence.
Authorities also summoned several individuals for questioning, including Vu Manh Quyet, born in 1987, who allegedly owned a mechanical workshop in Dong Nai, and Nguyen Cong Quy, born in 1994, from the central province of Lam Dong province.
Initial findings indicate that the suspects rented industrial premises and invested in advanced machining equipment to manufacture components used in PCP air rifles before supplying them to distributors in Vietnam and overseas.
Quyet allegedly began establishing the production operation in 2023, installing CNC machinery to manufacture gun parts and components. The products were then sold to domestic and foreign buyers through thousands of orders over several years.
Authorities described the operation as highly organised and self-contained, serving as a significant source of firearm components for multiple buyers.
Police also identified Tran Huu Trang, born in 1997, from Dong Nai, as the individual responsible for designing and producing several PCP rifle body models known as C1, C2 and C3.
Investigators said the products designed and manufactured by Tráng were supplied to Nguyen Duc Hiep, born in 1990, whom authorities previously identified as the leader of a larger network in the northern border province of Lao Cai Province.
The latest arrests stem from an ongoing investigation launched after Ha Tĩnh police dismantled a separate illegal military weapons manufacturing, storage and trading ring in mid-April. Authorities subsequently filed charges against nine suspects in that case.
The investigation is continuing. - Vietnam News/ANN
