Authorities in Vietnam apprehended 12 individuals involved in a transnational crime ring operating a website that distributed over 19 million pieces of pornographic content.

The website, Thiendia2.cc, attracted hundreds of millions of visits before the 12 people were arrested.

According to the investigation, the 12 individuals involved hail from various provinces and cities nationwide, with Nguyen Duc Vinh, born in 1975 and residing in Quan Bau Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An Province in north-central Vietnam, serving as the main executive. 

The website, formerly known as ‘Lau xanh,’ operates transnationally with servers located abroad, frequently sharing adult videos, images, and content, news site VnExpress reported. 

Website leaders remain anonymous, conceal information, and often engage in transactions using virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies to evade detection by authorities, police said.

In Vietnam, Vinh and his 11 accomplices were recruited to manage and operate the website, overseen by a Super Admin who assigned daily tasks via encrypted instant messaging service Telegram. 

Payments were made monthly through a virtual currency system. 

Despite multiple domain name changes and blocks, the website reportedly attracted over 1.1 million members and disseminated more than 19 million pieces of explicit content. 

On April 25, the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Public Security, in collaboration with the public security department of Nghe An Province, conducted 12 simultaneous operations, resulting in the arrest of the 12 individuals across various provinces and cities in the country.

Confiscated evidence includes seven desktop computers, four laptops, and 20 mobile phones, containing millions of pornographic photos, stories, and videos that generated illegal profits exceeding VND3 billion (US$118,366).

The public security department of Nghe An is currently expanding the investigation.

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