Airport officials find 20 kg of drugs in packages bound for overseas distribution

By Quoc Thang November 24, 2020 | 07:00 pm PT

Part of 20 kg of narcotics found hidden in a foot massager machine at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, HCMC, November 24, 2020. Photo by HCMC Customs Department.

Customs officers at Tan Son Nhat airport in HCMC on Tuesday discovered over 20 kilograms of narcotics in nine packages to be sent overseas.

On suspicion, officials at the airport checked the packages and found heroin, cannabis and ecstasy, methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs inside.

They were hidden inside clothes, animal foods and foot massage machines.

All of them were destined for fake addresses or lacked the receiver’s name in the bill of lading.

One officer said 700 grams of the drugs were destined for Australia, without revealing further information for the rest of the packages.

The customs department and police have seized the drugs and are investigating.

Finding drugs in packages sent from and to Vietnam is becoming increasingly frequent, and e-commerce services are usually used along with fake recipient addresses.

Vietnam has been a transit hub for drugs trafficked from the Golden Triangle. From here, the drugs are taken to Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and even Europe, Australia and Latin America.

On July 19 HCMC police for the first time busted an operation to traffic drugs to South Korea.

Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or over 2.5 kg of meth face death.