Vietnam battles rising tide of drug crimes
HANOI - Drug-linked crimes were up 10 percent in
communist-ruled Vietnam this year, with heroin featuring in
high-profile drug-smuggling cases that have ignited diplomatic
tensions with Australia.
Between November 2001 and November 2002, police in the
southeast Asian country uncovered about 14,000 drug
trafficking cases, a rise of 10.5 percent, the state-run
Vietnam News Agency reported late on Monday.
Police say the quantity of heroin seized over the year is up 62
percent. Vietnam is on an international drug route linked with
Laos and Cambodia as well as Europe.
The country, with a population of 80 million, has over 110,000
registered drug addicts, a number that is expected to rise by
eight to 10 percent a year.
Australians of Vietnamese descent have been in the centre of
recent heroin smuggling cases. Last week, 43-year-old Le My
Linh's appeal against a death penalty was rejected.
Unless granted clemency by Vietnam's president, she will die
by firing squad for trying to smuggle 882 grams (about two
pounds) of heroin to Sydney from Vietnam in November 2001.
Smuggling 600 grams (1.32 pounds) of heroin is punishable by
death or life imprisonment in Vietnam.
Three Australian sisters, aged 12, 14 and 24 are also facing
charges of smuggling heroin to Sydney and a 34-year-old
Australian of Vietnamese origin is awaiting sentencing after
being arrested in January for a similar charge.
Australia opposes capital punishment.
Other drugs seized in transborder smuggling cases this year
were opium and narcotic pills.
Despite public campaigns including billboards in cities warning
of the dangers of drugs, Vietnam is facing a rise in illegal
drugs usage.
That has prompted donor countries like Britain to offer help to
combat the problem. This month, the British Embassy in Hanoi
funded a computer network to collect and analyse drug
control information across Vietnam.
Vietnam itself has invested over 500 billion dong ($32.55
million) to upgrade and build detoxification centres in its
biggest city, Ho Chi Minh City, to treat 23,000 addicts, the
Vietnam News Agency said.
Reuters - December 31, 2002.
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