Vietnam using video cameras to trap drug dealers
HANOI - In an effort to combat an increasing
drug problem, Hanoi's police department has started
using video cameras to trap drug pushers, a local
newspaper reported Monday.
After five hours of secret videotaping of drug deals,
police discovered more than 1,000 addicts coming to
buy heroin and other drugs at four dens in the city's Hai
Ba Trung district, Thanh Nien, or "Young People",
newspaper reported.
In a raid of the dens two weeks ago, several drug dealers
were arrested, the newspaper said, without giving a
specific figure. Police also found 340 million dong
($24,000) in cash.
The use of cameras will be expanded to other places, the
paper reported. After a police crackdown last month in
the same district, drug dealers were quick to relocate to
new neighbourhoods.
Hanoi police and officials at the National Anti-Drug
Committee were not available for comment Monday.
Drugs have become a serious problem in Vietnam in
recent years. There are 134,000 drug addicts
nationwide, 70 percent of them under the age of 30,
according to government figures.
Associated Press - december 26, 2000.
|