Police in Ho Chi Minh City have busted on a large-scale drug trafficking ring led by a woman who offered sex to her subordinates in return for their service.
The municipal Department of Police affirmed on Saturday morning that they had broken up a ring that illegally traded, stored, and transported a large amount of narcotics, arresting four suspects.
The ring members included Tran Kim Yen, 30, who was the mastermind of the illegal operation, and three of her subordinates, Nguyen Phung Huy, 25, Lam Minh Trung, 36, and To Van Tuan Thanh, 33.
Huy and Thanh were in charge of distributing the drugs to buyers while Trung took care of the transportation from the northern city of Hai Phong to Ho Chi Minh City.
The racket had been on the radar of police officers since June 2016, as they were found often transporting the stimulants, hidden in shipments of various machines, from northern provinces to the southern metropolis.
The drugs were stashed in many tenanted houses before being sold to addicts.
In order to run the operation, Yen had seduced the young men to work for her. In return, they were allowed to sleep with the woman as well as given a proper place to live and other luxuries.
Yen owned 10 different phones and stayed in several rented houses, all of which were safeguarded with security cameras and could only be accessed with identity cards.
She never showed up during any transactions with buyers and only let her subordinates do the tasks.
The members tended to travel on vehicles whose license plates were regularly changed in order to shelter themselves from competent authorities.
Following their investigation, police caught Huy red-handed delivering a package of drugs to his client on January 30.
Officers raided a house in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, arresting Yen and Trung on the same day, before apprehending Thanh a few days later.
About 8.4 kilograms of synthetic drugs, 24,000 ecstasy pills, some BB guns, multiple motorcycles, and other relevant exhibits were confiscated.
Some other suspects are now wanted for their involvement in the ring.