The four, if the city prosecutor’s office ratifies the police proposal, will be prosecuted on charges of “divulging state secrets” which carries a 2 to 15-year imprisonment sentence.

The four are ringleader Nguyen Hong Hai, 39, and three underlings including a 22-year-old youth.

Hai so far admitted that around 30 students had hired them for the service at VND10-50 million (US$625-3,125) a pop.

The system was elaborate, with exam takers reading the questions through the phone and a group on the other end quickly solving the questions and reading back the answers.

The ring hired over 50 capable university students to solve the questions at VND1 million ($62.5) per person per test.

Police believe over 20 candidates have successfully cheated this way and are now attending prestigious universities.Cell phones and other hearing devices were installed in wigs or in the hair of students, with some even hidden in the bras of female students.

The case broke wide open after a student was caught using a hair wig to conceal a cell phone earpiece during an entrance exam to the Hanoi Banking Institute earlier this month.

Reported by KTL – Translated by Hoang Bao