Nguyen Van Be, an Australian of Vietnamese origin born in 1952, was sent back to Australia from Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on May 18 in the presence of the Australian Deputy Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Anna Murray.

Be said he arrived in Vietnam on April 25 with the excuse that he was visiting relatives. In fact, he had received orders from Dang Quoc Sung, a “central committee” member, and Le Anh, a key figure in the Viet Tan group, to take photos of the Ha Tien border gate in southern Kien Giang province and the Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh province.

He was instructed to assess ways of traveling between Vietnam and Cambodia in order to help the Viet Tan group set up a network to illegally smuggle their members and weapons into the country.
Be was also asked by Sung to photograph the US Consulate in HCM City.

On May 9, Vietnam’s police took Be into custody, along with his photos of the border gates and the US Consulate.

Be admitted he had broken Vietnamese law, supplied details of his accomplices and asked for clemency.