VIETNAM HANOI COURT SENTENCES HUMAN TRAFFICKING RING
Date Posted: 2/24/2006

VNS Feb. 21 - The Hanoi People's Court sentenced ten individuals to five-to-13 years in prison for human trafficking activities.

A two-day trial that ended in the city on Thursday disclosed that the trafficking ring was led by Nguyen Huu Chung, 43, from Hanoi's Hoan Kiem District. Chung receive the top sentence of 13 years.

The accused were charged with five crimes, including kidnapping, extortion and forging stamps and documents.

Between early 2003 and June 2004, police said, the accused had more than 10 times tried to take people to work abroad by means of fake visas and passports.

The police seized the accused in November 2004 after catching two of them acting as policemen to force one of Chung's debtor to pay. A total of US$31,400 Chung and his co-perpetrators obtained illegally from selling visas would be confiscated and put in the public coffers.