Police in several northern provinces have smashed a large-scale drug-trafficking ring between Vietnam, Laos and China, arresting 18 traffickers and seizing a large quantity of drugs, cars and money, along with a handgun.
The bust was carried out successfully thanks to the joint effort by the anti-drug police and police under the Ministry Public Security in Hanoi and Quang Ninh, Son La, Hoa Binh, Bac Giang and Hoa Binh provinces, said Major General Nguyen Anh Tuan, head of the Department of Drug Crime Investigation Police.
After months of investigation, a joint police team raided room 1004 of the CT1 Building in Van Khe Urban Area in Ha Dong District, Hanoi on July 3, and found 89 cakes of heroin, nearly 34,000 tablets of synthetic drugs, 1 kg of Methamphetamine, a K59 gun and six bullets, a motorcycle, and materials related to drug trafficking.
The police arrested Nguyen Duy Thang, 28, and Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong, 24, both from Son La, who were present in the room.
From their testimonies, the police arrested seven other people in Hanoi, Son La, Bac Giang and Hoa Binh. The youngest among them is Giang Hai Yen, 19.
They also seized four cars, 200 gram of drugs and VND100 million (US$4,800) in cash from the seven traffickers.
Expanding the investigation, the police in Son La detained Song A Tenh, 41, of Hoa Binh, who was caught driving a truck carrying 42 cakes of heroin in Son La's Moc Chau District on July 4.
Several days ago, the police in Quang Ninh also arrested eight other members of the ring and confiscated more than 80,000 synthetic drug tablets, two cars, VND1.5 billion (US$72,000) in cash and other items.
Many ring members confessed that they had trafficked 625 cakes of heroin and 15 kg of Methamphetamine from Laos to Vietnam. The drugs were then brought to Son La, Hoa Binh, Quang Tri, Ha Tinh, Quang Ninh and Lang Son provinces, where they would be sold to China.
They also said they had bought hundreds of thousands of synthetic drug tablets from China to re-sell in Vietnam.
This is the second-largest drug case ever uncovered in Vietnam, following the case in which a number of foreigners trafficked eight tonnes of hashish into Vietnam in 2009, said Lieutenant General Pham Quy Ngo, Deputy Minister of Public Security.
