Online Crime Figure Sáng “con” Charged Alongside More Than 500 Others

Vietnamese police have charged 212 cases involving 540 defendants in a major crackdown on drug-related crime, including online gang figure Cao Ngọc Sáng, known as Sáng “con.”

The Ministry of Public Security’s Drug Crime Investigation Department, known as C04, announced the results on September 7 after coordinating with police in several localities. The charges cover eight groups of offenses, including illegal possession, transport, sale and use of drugs, organizing illegal drug use, and failing to report crimes. Police also fined 72 people administratively and sent 48 others to compulsory rehabilitation.

Sáng, 36, from Thanh Hóa, allegedly led an online gang group. Authorities linked him and associates to illegal drug possession, organizing drug use and failure to report crimes.

The investigation also identified a network allegedly involving Nguyễn Hoàng Giang, 29, from Hanoi. Police said the network transported and sold large quantities of drugs across borders, bringing drugs from Laos and Europe into Vietnam for distribution. Investigators described it as an organized operation that used encrypted social media, frequently changed communication methods, divided deliveries among multiple stages and locations, and relied on intermediaries who did not meet buyers directly. Payments also moved through several layers of intermediaries to conceal the money trail.

Authorities said hundreds of people were involved in four operational layers: drug distribution agents, carriers moving drugs from the border into the interior, domestic transporters and consumers. The network touched nine provinces and cities, including Hanoi, Hai Phong, Hưng Yên, Bắc Ninh, Phú Thọ, Điện Biên, Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An and Đắk Lắk. After gathering evidence, the task force deployed 350 officers in 10 teams and 19 units to monitor the suspects. On May 31, police arrested three suspects in Hưng Yên and seized 71 kilograms of synthetic drugs. The supplied report ends during the account of that operation.