Five members of an organised criminal group have been sentenced to a combined 39 years and five months in prison for smuggling Vietnamese migrants into the United Kingdom and laundering more than £1.65 million generated from the operation.
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The defendants were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday following an investigation by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency in collaboration with French and Belgian law-enforcement authorities.
Those sentenced were twin brothers Vinh Van Nguyen and Quang Van Nguyen, both 31 and from Coventry; Van Huy Nguyen, 23, from Rotherham; Lia-Chien Trong, 34; and Sy Trai Ho, 28. Trong and Ho were said to have no fixed addresses in the UK.
Vinh, who was convicted by a jury on August 25 following a two-week trial, received the longest sentence of 12 years and six months.
Quang was sentenced to nine years and nine months, Huy to seven years and two months, Trong to six years, and Ho to four years.
Quang and Trong had pleaded guilty at earlier hearings, while Ho and Huy changed their pleas to guilty shortly after Vinh’s trial began.
The National Crime Agency said the group facilitated the illegal entry of Vietnamese nationals into the UK through small boats and lorries before placing some of them in workplaces under what investigators described as “debt bondage.”
The criminal network was reportedly controlled by the twin brothers, Vinh and Quang, who advertised an “end-to-end” smuggling service from Vietnam to Europe.
Investigators discovered messages in which migrants were referred to as “chickens,” while one of the routes from Vietnam to the UK was advertised at $20,000 per person.
The investigation began in July 2025 after French Customs officers intercepted a parcel at Charles de Gaulle Airport. Although the package was declared as containing chocolates and clothes, officials discovered 22 Vietnamese passports inside.
Investigators found that passports were taken from migrants in France before they crossed into the UK. The documents were subsequently sent to accomplices in Britain and used to compel the migrants to repay the cost of their journeys.
The group collected cash from different locations across the UK and transferred the proceeds to accounts in Vietnam through post offices and money-transfer services, including Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria.
The operation suffered a major setback on September 11, 2025, when West Midlands Police officers arrested Quang in Birmingham city centre.
Officers reportedly saw him acting suspiciously after leaving the driver’s seat of a parked vehicle and throwing its keys underneath a taxi.
A search of the vehicle uncovered more than £16,700 in cash and 220 Vietnamese passports bundled together with handwritten notes and receipts from previous money transfers.
The receipts led investigators to numerous transactions conducted at post offices in Coventry, Luton, Wigan, Liverpool, Leeds, Leamington Spa and Rugby.
Forensic analysis also linked Trong to the operation after investigators found passports wrapped inside a bloodstained Argentina football shirt bearing his DNA.
Messages recovered from Quang’s telephone included an image of a Romanian-registered lorry and a ferry reservation for another vehicle. Both vehicles had entered the UK on July 18, 2025, before travelling in convoy to Thurrock Services on the M25.
Other communications reportedly contained discussions about the movement of migrants and complaints about members of the group being underpaid.
Facebook messages between Quang and Trong contained addresses of nail salons as well as the names and dates of birth of Vietnamese nationals. Investigators said this indicated that some migrants were placed in workplaces to repay debts incurred through their illegal entry.
NCA officers arrested Vinh, Ho and Trong in Coventry on October 1, 2025. They were arrested again in February 2026 alongside Huy.
Before their October arrests, Vinh, Ho and Trong were observed travelling in a white Vauxhall Astra from Coventry to a nail salon in the Wrexham area, where they collected cash.
The vehicle later stopped at an Asda store in Wigan, where Trong and Ho attempted to transfer money through Western Union. They were carrying about £4,000 when officers arrested them.
Vinh was found with more than £13,400 and eight Vietnamese passports inside the vehicle. Some of the documents contained post-office deposit receipts, while part of the money had reportedly been collected from the Wrexham nail salon.
Investigators also discovered conversations on Vinh’s telephone concerning routes through Hungary, flights, passports, safe-house addresses in France and life jackets.
His internet records showed that he accessed a weather forecasting website 99 times in 61 days, apparently to monitor winds and waves across the English Channel.
Financial records obtained from Western Union, Ria and MoneyGram showed that the group transferred more than £1.65 million through 740 transactions to accounts in Vietnam between July 2024 and October 2025.
NCA Branch Commander Sara-Jayne Moore said the offenders had no concern for the welfare of the migrants they transported for profit.
She said the number of passports seized demonstrated the scale of the criminal operation, adding that many migrants faced further exploitation after arriving in Britain.
The agency said organised immigration crime remained a priority and disclosed that it had more than 100 ongoing investigations targeting suspected people-smuggling networks.
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