Expanding the investigation of the case
Regarding the situation of Hon Cha Mountain (Tran Quang Dieu Ward, Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh) being "cut to the meat" to illegally exploit minerals, Lieutenant Colonel Tran Xuan An - Head of Tran Quang Dieu Ward Police - said that from the accurate and timely reflection of Lao Dong Newspaper, the police force organized an ambush, discovered and arrested a group of subjects illegally exploiting minerals on the mountain.
"From the reporter's reflection, on the morning of May 10, I directed the police to prepare to go up the mountain. At the same time, another reconnaissance team went around the foot of the ice and forest mountain, approaching a group of subjects using drilling and rock cutting equipment on Hon Cha mountain.
At noon of the same day, the force suddenly approached, controlled and arrested 4 subjects who were illegally exploiting minerals. All were quickly taken to the headquarters for clarification. Initially, the subjects admitted their actions," said Lieutenant Colonel Tran Xuan An.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Tran Xuan An, after catching the above group of subjects red-handed, the authorities immediately expanded the investigation, traced the related linkages, and clarified whether there were factors and businesses behind this activity. When there are results, the level of violation will be based on the handling.
"At the scene, the authorities seized 11 stone blocks with a total estimated weight of more than 50m3, along with many valuable mining equipment and means such as excavators, center drilling machines and specialized handheld tools for stone mining activities. All the evidence has been taken to the headquarters to serve the investigation," said Lieutenant Colonel Tran Xuan An.
Through verification, the 4 subjects illegally mining on Hon Cha Mountain all reside in Tuy Phuoc District (Binh Dinh), including: Pham Huu Xuan Mui (born in 1979), Pham Gia Lam (born in 1990), Nguyen Ngoc Son (born in 1981), and Phan Thanh Binh (born in 1979). All of these subjects were hired to participate in illegal stone mining activities at Hon Cha Mountain.
Lieutenant Colonel Tran Xuan An said that the authorities are investigating to clarify the reason why illegal stone miners on Hon Cha mountain can use a 3-phase power source - a type of power with high capacity, only provided by the electricity sector according to valid documents, often used for legal production facilities, industrial parks or large-scale projects.
Rock bandits have 3 phases of electricity, what does the electricity industry say?
According to the reporter's research, to have a 3-phase power source to serve production activities, businesses or individuals must fully meet legal requirements such as purpose of use, connection location, legal land ownership or lease documents, technical designs assessed by specialized agencies... and must be approved by the electricity industry.
However, in Hon Cha Mountain - an area where Binh Dinh province has banned all mineral exploitation activities, the subjects blatantly used 3-phase electricity to operate machinery to serve illegal stone mining.
So, who supplied electricity to this area? Why is there 3-phase electricity on the "banned mountain"?
To clarify the above problems, the reporter contacted Mr. Nguyen The Binh - Deputy Director of Binh Dinh Province Electricity Company. Mr. Binh affirmed that the electricity industry absolutely does not provide a 3-phase power source to serve the stone mining activities on Hon Cha Mountain. According to the report of Phu Tai Power Company, no arrests have been made of illegal stones connecting and pulling 3-phase electricity from transformer stations of the electricity industry and customers.
"Through the inspection, the subjects used diesel generators to serve illegal stone mining on Hon Cha Mountain. Currently, the electricity industry has not discovered any secret pulling of 3-phase electricity from surrounding transformer stations, as well as at enterprises," said Mr. Binh.
Mr. Binh said that from the reflection of the Lao Dong newspaper, the electricity industry will coordinate with the Department of Industry and Trade to check and take measures to handle when there are results. "If there is a stealth enterprise for 3 -phase pulling into Hon Cha Mountain, we will proceed to cut off the power. At the same time, report to the Department of Industry and Trade to consider the level of violations for handling," Mr. Binh informed.
