rock bandits have not let go of Hon Cha mountain
In late April and early May 2025, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters once again returned to Hon Cha Mountain (Tran Quang Dieu Ward, Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh) - where thieves brazenly chopped the hills to steal rocks in the past.
Many days of monitoring the stone theft activities of stone bandits, we witnessed the scene of Hon Cha mountain being dug up and blatant, the rock and soil were peeled off into large rocks, lying around and lying exposed. This situation has been going on for a long time and Lao Dong Newspaper has reported it.
In response to the strong press, Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan has repeatedly directed the authorities to investigate. Mr. Tuan also inspected the scene and requested strict handling of the bank robbery, holding the local authorities accountable, determined not to let this problem happen again.
However, the strong direction of the Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Dinh province seems to have only temporarily slowed down the "pull-ups" of resources on Hon Cha mountain, then silently continued.
Although they have a grasp of the schedule of activities, the methods of exploitation and transportation of the bandits' rocks, penetrating their caves is still as difficult as catching balls in the forest because the road to Hon Cha mountain has nearly a hundred coves, large and small enough, but no one is without "arrowroof".
When discovering a stranger approaching the foot of the mountain and suggesting to go up, the group of subjects (2-3 people) on the patrol duty immediately approached, questioned and blocked the road. Their aggressive and violent attitude made everyone afraid and quickly withdrew.
To deal with the authorities, the bandits also installed surveillance camera systems at the entrances to the mountains. When they discovered a patrol force, they immediately disconnected, cleared the camp, hid the exploitation tools and quickly hid in the deep forest.
With or without help?
After many days of persuasion, the reporter was finally guided by someone to the bandit's base. Under the harsh sunlight at noon, reporters and people spent nearly an hour and a half in forest ice to reach the area of the forest that was being "ripped off" by stone mining.
Here, reporters witnessed the large-scale and organized stone theft. From afar, the sound of excavators, along with the sound of specialized stone cutting machines, echoed throughout the forest, creating a terrifying, haunting sound.
The subjects operate in small groups, from 3 to 5 people, scattered throughout the areas around the mountain. Each mining location is arranged with a 3-phase power line - a power source mainly for production purposes, connected together by trails created by thieves, wide enough for dump trucks or homemade vehicles to easily transport illegal stone out of the rugged forest.
Cutting machines and road users work tirelessly, day and night, while road excavators and stone truck trucks continuously operate. It is easy to have hundreds, thousands of blocks of stone that have been exploited and transported by the subjects without being discovered.
Is there any assistance, cover-up, or back-up for illegal mining activities? Why can't local authorities stop and handle it completely? Is it a phenomenon of "hot above, cold below" when the Chairman of Binh Dinh province has repeatedly directed but this situation still recurs?...
Growing up with the forest canopy, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung (residing in Tran Quang Dieu ward, Quy Nhon city - character name has been changed) was no longer surprised to witness Hon Cha mountain being attacked day by day. The trucks carrying illegal stone are still transported day by day through the local government, but strangely, they do not encounter any obstacles.
"This situation has been going on for a long time and is organized. I want to go into the bird trap forest, which is as difficult as going into the sky, because just by setting foot in the forest, I will be threatened and chased away by " notified" subjects. Just like that, Hon Cha Mountain is in disrepair. The government and functional forces must take action immediately and handle it thoroughly, because this activity is no different from challenging the law," Mr. Dung said indignantly.
