HANOI, July 25 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese man, leader of a transnational drug trafficking ring, was arrested Vietnam's northern Hai Phong city when he was transporting over 9.8 kg of heroin and 8 kg of ecstasy, the municipal police said on Tuesday.
52-year-old Ngo Trac Hiep from Hai Phong, and other members of the ring bought lab-made drugs at Vietnam-Laos border areas, and transported them to Vietnamese northern provinces for sales.
The man was arrested when he was driving his pickup truck with the drugs hidden in a special compartment of the vehicle on Hanoi-Hai Phong expressway, the police said, noting that they seized the biggest-ever amounts of drugs in Hai Phong.
According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty.