On January 30, the Criminal Police Department of Ho Chi Minh City Police said that it had coordinated with related forces to destroy a ring transporting and trading illegal fireworks from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City police are temporarily detaining Nguyen Phuoc Canh (24 years old, residing in Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) and Nguyen Van Tien (28 years old, from Gia Lai Province), and confiscated more than 1 ton of various types of firecrackers.

According to Ho Chi Minh City Police, in order to carry out the peak of the crime suppression campaign and maintain security and order during the 2024 Lunar New Year, the unit has identified a large-scale illegal firecracker transportation and trading ring in the area, so it has established a special project. On January 18, detectives from the Criminal Police Department arrested Nguyen Phuoc Canh while he was delivering 80 kg of firecrackers.

Expanding the investigation, the Criminal Police Department of Ho Chi Minh City Police identified Nguyen Van Tien as the leader of a ring transporting illegal fireworks from Cambodia through the border area adjacent to Long An province, then bringing them to Ho Chi Minh City for sale. In the early morning of January 30, the Criminal Police Department coordinated with Binh Chanh District Police and Long An Provincial Police to arrest Nguyen Van Tien while he was driving a truck transporting 576 boxes of fireworks (weighing more than 938 kg) from the Cambodian border to Ho Chi Minh City for sale.

According to Ho Chi Minh City Police, in the past 45 days alone, 20 cases and 27 defendants have been prosecuted related to the illegal trading and transportation of firecrackers. The police seized more than 2.2 tons of finished firecrackers and more than 500 kg of raw materials for firecracker production. This is the amount of firecrackers that the chains were preparing to bring to the market for consumption during the 2024 Lunar New Year. Currently, Ho Chi Minh City Police continue to expand and investigate the case of illegal transportation and trading of firecrackers from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City.