~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Vietnam arrests biggest-ever drug trafficking ring

Vietnamese police have made their biggest-ever drug bust, arresting 43 people accused of smuggling about one ton of heroin from neighboring Laos, state-controlled media reported Tuesday. The ring was uncovered in November 2003 when police caught Kim Van Phuong, who was allegedly transporting 54 grams (2 ounces) of heroin and 1.3 kilograms (2.8 pounds) of opium, the Pioneer newspaper said.

From Phuong's confessions, police detained another 42 suspects between November 2003 and August 2004, it said. It wasn't clear why authorities took so long to announce the arrests. The ring was accused of trafficking about one ton of heroin from neighboring Laos into Vietnam starting in 1999, the newspaper said. "This is the biggest ever, second-to-none, case," the newspaper quoted Cao Ngoc Oanh, the deputy national police chief, as saying. It wasn't clear when the suspects would be put on trial. Among those arrested was Pua A Chu, a member of the ruling Communist Party and deputy head of a commune in northern Son La province, bordering Laos, it said.

The newspaper said Chu was accused of trafficking 54 kilograms (119 pounds) of heroin from 1999 until he was arrested in November 2003. In Vietnam, possessing, trading or trafficking more than 600 grams (1.3 pounds) of heroin or 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of opium is punishable by death by firing squad. About 100 people are sentenced to death for drug-related offenses each year.

The Associated Press - May 17, 2005.