Vietnamese police bust large-scale illegal English e-book operation

Vietnamese police have dismantled a sophisticated online network involved in the illegal sale of English e-books, uncovering illicit profits exceeding 1.5 billion Vietnamese dong (approximately $60,000 USD).

The operation, led by the Economic Police Department in Da Nang, in collaboration with cybersecurity units and the Vietnam Education Publishing House, targeted a large-scale, intricate scheme operating on the internet.

Investigations revealed that individuals illegally copied hundreds of copyrighted books. These were then uploaded to websites and Facebook pages, advertised, and sold to students nationwide. One case involved a 38-year-old suspect who hired a 35-year-old to design and operate a website. They scanned books from official publishers, added audio and images, and sold them online. Annual online learning accounts cost 499,000 dong, while individual book files ranged from 240,000 to 1.8 million dong. This suspect created about 100 e-book titles, comprising over 600 individual books, and profited over 500 million dong.

In a second case, a 30-year-old suspect established a Facebook fan page and YouTube channel to sell pirated English e-books. They scanned books from various publishers, converted them into e-book format, and stored them in numerous Google Drive accounts. These were sold for 80,000 to 220,000 dong per book. This individual produced 784 e-book sets, selling to over 5,000 customers and earning approximately 1 billion dong.

The Economic Police Department has initiated legal proceedings, arresting three individuals for infringing copyright and related rights. Investigations are ongoing to expand the case. Authorities plan to intensify efforts to identify and eliminate organizations and individuals involved in intellectual property violations, particularly online.