Speaking at the National Meeting of Internal Affairs Agencies on September 15, Major General Vu Hong Van, Director of the Dong Nai Provincial Police Department, briefed the delegates on the results of the first phase of the investigation of the special large-scale fake gasoline case.
The ring’s leaders established various transportation and petrol trading companies as covers, rented warehouses along river routes and built modern facilities, worth up to trillions of Dong for their oil products smuggling activities.
Smugglers used ships with a large capacity of 3,000 to 5,000 tons, bought fake gasoline abroad, and then transported them to a depot where they used chemicals and solvents to make the 95-octane grade gasoline (A95). The fake gasoline was then transported to another store on an islet in the middle of the Hau River, Vinh Long province.
The fake fuel was distributed to supply warehouses in different provinces before being retailed.
According to investigators, around one million liters of fake gasoline was sold on the market each day. The criminals’ illegal activities had a very bad impact on the country’s economy and caused a large loss to the state budget revenue, as well as seriously affected national energy security, said Major General Vu Hong Van.
The fake gasoline also harmed vehicles and possibly caused traffic accidents.
The criminals also bribed many officials, who covered and protected their activities.
Under the direction of the Criminal Investigation Agency under the Public Security Ministry, the Provincial Police Department of Dong Nai prosecuted 70 defendants with 6 charges according to the Penal Code.
At the same time, on the request of the Dong Nai Provincial Police Department, the Criminal Investigation Department under the Defense Ministry also prosecuted 13 persons involved in the case who worked for the Ministry of National Defense.
Initial results of the investigation show that the criminal ring has sold 200 million liters of fake or low-quality gasoline to the market, illegally getting thousands of billions of Dong of profits.
The police have seized many assets, important documents and evidence, and distrained property obtained by the accused, with a value of over 1,000 billion Dong. Dong Nai Provincial Police Department has opened further probe into the case.
