A criminal ring in north-central Vietnam has been busted making nearly 200 fake degree certificates in less than a week and selling them for up to VND4 million (US$172) apiece.

On Thursday afternoon, Col. Pham Van Toan, head of the Criminal Police Division under the Police Department of Thua Thien ­– Hue Province in north-central Vietnam, announced they had arrested a group of four suspects in a case of fabricating seals and documents.

The suspects are Ta Chi Hoang, 28, Nguyen Hong Quang, 25, Nguy Minh Ta, 25, and Tran Xuan Lai, 28.

Hoang and Ta are residents in Ho Chi Minh City, while Quang lives in Hanoi and Lai resides in Thua Thien – Hue Province.

The four men were captured along with exhibits of their illegal operations.

The suspects told investigators “potential customers” would make contact with Hoang via the man’s account on Zalo, a popular Vietnamese chat app.

The group would openly promote the account on the Internet.

Customers could place their orders for fake degree certificates of any kind for a price of between VND1 million ($43) and VND4 million ($172).

Fake seals and degree certificates seized by police officers in Thua Thien – Hue Province, Vietnam. Photo: Thuong Hien / Tuoi Tre

After an agreement is reached between both sides, customers would provide the men with their personal information, ID photos, and the kind of degree certificate they desired.

The suspects would send the finished product to their customers by post.

In only six days from April 30 to May 5, the group managed to fabricate and sell 199 diplomas and certificates, pocketing more than VND300 million ($12,830), police found.

Thua Thien – Hue Police are still investigating this case.

Fabricating an organization’s seal or documents is punishable by between three and seven years behind bars if the offense involves six or more fabricated items, according to the Penal Code of Vietnam.

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