HANOI, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Police of Vietnam's northern Dien Bien province have cracked down a major drug trafficking case, arresting three suspects and seizing 54 cakes of heroin, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday.
The authorities caught red-handed a man trading the drug weighing nearly 19 kg in Dien Bien's Muong Cha District on Tuesday night. From his confession, the police arrested two other members of the ring, said the report.
One month ago, the authorities discovered the trans-provincial and transnational drug trafficking ring with a large amount of heroin traded from Laos to Dien Bien through northern Lai Chau and Lao Cai provinces before being sold to a third country. The case is under further investigation.
According to the Investigation Police Department on Drug-related Crimes of the country's Ministry of Public Security, trafficking rings would likely increase their activities in the coming time after the COVID-19 has been well controlled in Vietnam and social distancing orders have been eased.
As stipulated in Vietnamese laws, 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. Enditem
