These two gold smuggling rings were led by Nguyen Thi Minh Phung (born in 1981, from Binh Dinh) and Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong (born in 1985, from Tay Ninh). The defendants were prosecuted before the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court for the crime of Smuggling.

According to the indictment, the defendants Nguyen Thi Minh Phung is a freelancer in Ho Chi Minh City; Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong is a freelancer in Tay Ninh and Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang is the owner of the Kim Oanh Hang gold shop in Tay Ninh City.

These defendants were not allowed to import raw gold (bars) from Cambodia to Vietnam for sale. During their business, the defendants saw that the price of gold in the Vietnamese market was higher than the price of gold in Cambodia, so they negotiated and agreed to accept orders to sell smuggled gold to domestic gold shop owners; then contacted Cambodian subjects and Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau (a border resident, living at Chang Riec border gate, Tay Ninh province) to order smuggled gold from Cambodia to bring back to Vietnam through Chang Riec border gate to resell for profit.

The indictment alleges that the defendants set up two gold trafficking rings. One ring was led by Nguyen Thi Minh Phung, who was linked to Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau and lured 20 people to join the ring smuggling 4,830 kg of gold bars, worth more than VND6,644 billion, from Cambodia to Vietnam, between August and September 2022.

Another ring led by Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong, in conjunction with Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau, lured five other people to smuggle 1,320 kg of gold bars, worth VND1,817 billion, from Cambodia to Vietnam between July and September 2022.

On September 28, 2022, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Agency monitored and supervised the entire process of the subjects transporting and importing gold from Cambodia to Vietnam for consumption and issued an emergency search order for 2 vehicles of 2 groups of subjects immediately after the gold delivery and receipt on Hong Lac Street, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

The police arrested a number of subjects and expanded the investigation of the case, continuing to prosecute more than 20 other people involved in the two gold smuggling rings mentioned above.

According to investigation documents, the first ring led by Nguyen Thi Minh Phung received orders to sell gold to a number of customers and then ordered smuggled gold from Cambodian subjects to bring through the Chang Riec border gate for delivery.

In this smuggling ring, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Giau directed and managed 3 other people to transfer USD to Cambodia to buy gold and bring it back to Vietnam, through Chang Riec border gate to deliver the gold to Phung.

22 defendants in this ring bought and sold a total of 4,830 kg of gold bars, worth more than 6,644 billion VND, profiting more than 17.6 billion VND.

The second ring was led by Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong (younger sister of defendant Ngoc Giau). From June to July 2022, Phuong received orders to sell smuggled gold to Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang. Phuong then contributed capital with a Cambodian named Pich Hen to buy smuggled gold from Cambodia, then through Giau and Tran Thanh Thang brought the gold through the Chang Riec border gate, delivering it to other defendants.

Phuong's ring successfully smuggled 1,320kg of gold, worth more than 1,817 billion VND, earning a profit of more than 6.8 billion VND.

Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP dated April 3, 2012 of the Government on Management of Gold Trading Activities stipulates: “The State has a monopoly on the export and import of raw gold to produce gold bars”. Therefore, since 2012, the State Bank has strictly managed the import of gold bars, gold bars, and raw gold.

Taking advantage of the market's demand for gold bars and raw gold and realizing that the domestic gold price was higher than the gold price in Cambodia, since the beginning of 2011, the defendants colluded to establish, organize, and operate two gold smuggling lines from Cambodia to Vietnam through the Chang Riec border gate in Tay Ninh province to resell to domestic customers for illegal profits.