Chinese arrested for brokering illegal emigration of 20 Vietnamese

By Vo Thanh March 29, 2024 | 12:02 am PT

Several Vietnamese trying to illegally emigrate to Laos are held at a border guard station in Quang Tri Province. Photo courtesy of the Quang Tri border guards

Two Chinese in central Quang Tri Province have been arrested for organizing the illegal emigration of 20 Vietnamese to Laos to work.

Zhu Gui Neng, 47, and Liu Fang Quan, 36, were detained by border guards of Quang Tri for brokering illegal emigration, the guards said Thursday.

At around 10 a.m. on March 25, Zhu and Liu were helping Vietnamese to illegally cross the Lao Bao border gate to Laos when they were caught red-handed by police.

Zhu said there was a demand to recruit workers to take care of trees for a China's paper company at a branch in Laos' Savannakkhet Province, so he asked a man named Ho Cha Tho in Ha Giang Province that borders China to look for people to bring to Laos.

Zhu and Liu then entered Vietnam through a border gate in Ha Giang to receive Tho and 20 people of ethnic minorities, bringing them to the Lao Bao border gate.

After bringing the 20 people to Laos, Zhu and Liu planned to return to China via the border.