Two men have been arrested for organizing for 10 Chinese nationals to enter Vietnam illegally and seek way to return to China, police of south-central Ninh Thuan Province have reported.

Le Duy Thuy, 45, hailing from Thanh Hoa Province, and Le Tay Nguyen, 42, hailing from Ho Chi Minh City, have been detained and prosecuted for organizing the illegal entry into Vietnam, Ninh Thuan police said on Saturday.

On June 3, Thuy and Nguyen, after their arrangements with some people, transported 10 Chinese men from the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang to Hanoi for VND10 million (US$434) per person.

These men had previously entered Vietnam illegally from Cambodia.

When the car driven by Thuy carrying four of these foreigners, who all are the natives of China’s Fujian Province, reached Ninh Thuan’s Thuan Nam District, it was stopped at a COVID-19 checkpoint for inspection.

All the Chinese had no passports and visas to show the inspectors.

At the same time, the car in which Nguyen carried the remaining six Chinese men was halted in Binh Thuan’s Bac Binh District and all these foreigners were suspected to have entered Vietnam illegally.

After initial interrogations, Binh Thuan’s concerned agencies transferred Nguyen and his six Chinese guests to Ninh Thuan for continued investigations.

This image shows 10 Chinese men who have been found entering Vietnam illegally to seek way to return to China. Photo: Tuan Minh / Tuoi Tre

These Chinese had made a living as workers in Cambodia, but when the country faced the wide spread of COVID-19, they entered illegally to Vietnam to seek way to return to China, investigators said.

All the 10 foreigners were placed in centralized quarantine in Ninh Thuan so as local health workers took their samples for COVID-19 testing.

After three times of testing, they all were found negative for coronavirus, local health authorities reported.

After the Chinese completed 17 days of isolation, the provincial police on June 22 assigned 12 police officers to take the foreigners to the northern border province of Lang Son to hand over to Chinese authorities.

One day later, however, the Lang Son Border Gate released a notice that one of these Chinese tested positive for COVID-19, so all the 12 police officers had to be placed in centralized quarantine.

Local police are further investigating the case.

Vietnam has sealed its borders since March last year but it still grants entry to diplomats, foreign experts, and Vietnamese repatriates.

All international arrivals are required to undergo a 21-day quarantine period to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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