HCMC court sentences 27 to death in drug trafficking case

By Hai Duyen December 27, 2024 | 07:16 pm PT

The HCMC People's Court sentenced a Vietnamese drug lord and her 26 subordinates to death on Friday for drug trafficking, marking a case with the highest number of individuals sentenced to death in Vietnam in the past decade.

The 35-member ring smuggled 626 kilos of drugs from Cambodia into Vietnam between March 2018 and November 2022, the court found.

Vu Hoang Oanh, also known as Oanh Ha, 67, the mastermind and leader of the network, was convicted of illegal drug trafficking and fined VND200 million (US$7,855).

Vu Hoang Oanh in court. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Vu Hoang Oanh at a trial in Ho Chi Minh City, Dec. 27, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Her 26 subordinates were sentenced to death for the crimes of trafficking, transporting, or storing illegal drugs.

Six other members of the network received life sentences and two others were given 20 year jail term.

They are required to return all illicit gains amounting to tens of billions of dong to the state budget. (VND1 billion = US$39,300)

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