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Gangs extorting money from long-range buses

Gangs extorting money from long-range buses

Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 12:19 GMT+7

Several underground gangs have recently extorted money from numerous buses that pick up passengers while leaving Ho Chi Minh City for other localities, a Tuoi Tre investigation has found, prompting police to set up an inquiry. During their recent fact-finding trips, Tuoi Tre reporters found many gangs that forced buses to pay them money as a ‘road-buying fee’ that is charged on each passenger the buses pick up on streets along their routes. The fees normally range from VND5,000-50,000 (US$2.4), but in some cases, the rate soared to VND100,000 per passenger. On the morning of October 1, many members of a gang led by a man nicknamed Ca ‘xam’ (‘tattooed’) were arranged around a bus station next to the An Suong Flyover in Hoc Mon District to start a routine day of extortion. At 7 am, a 24-seat bus on the HCMC-Can Tho route called at the station to pick up more passengers. When two people were about to get on the bus, a member of the gang rushed to it on a motorbike. “Only two passengers got on,” the driver’s assistant told the man, raising two fingers up. He then handed VND10,000 to the man, who, after receiving the money, sped after a 50-seat bus bound for Ca Mau to collect VND25,000. The same scene repeated itself for bus after bus that picked up passengers in the area. Although charging only VND5,000 per passenger, Ca ‘xam’ could gain a big ‘revenue’ every day given the large number of buses that pick up passengers at the station.

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After mugging money from the bus driver, a member of the gang led by Hai 'meo' gets off the bus on October 11, 2012 (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Most of the buses that receive passengers in the area have to pay the charge to the gang, otherwise they will be prevented from taking people on and their drivers or drivers’ assistants will be assaulted. Applying a higher ‘charge’ than Ca ‘xam’ is a 35-year-old woman named Lai, who leads a gang that is operating at the Binh Phuoc Crossroads. The gang collects VND10,000 per passenger from bus drivers or their assistants. The highest charge by underground gangs found in Tuoi Tre’s investigation belongs to a gang led by a man who goes by Hai ‘meo’ (‘cat’) at the bus station near the Song Than flyover, which connects HCMC's Thu Duc District and Binh Duong Province's Di An Town. This gang usually applies a charge VND20,000-50,000 per passenger, but in some cases, the rate has been pushed to VND100,000 ($4.8). In talking with Tuoi Tre about the gangs’ extortion yesterday, a leader of Binh Duong Province’s Di An Town, where the gang led by Hai ‘meo’ is operating, said local police have launched an investigation to crack down on the gang.

Tuoi Tre

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