Over 665 kg of cannabis found in container from overseas

By Gia Chinh December 23, 2020 | 01:00 am PT

Cannabis found hidden in a container in Hai Phong City, December 11, 2020. Photo courtesy of Hai Phong Customs.

Police in northern Hai Phong City are expanding their investigation into 665.2 kilograms of cannabis found hidden inside a container shipped from overseas to Vietnam.

The dried cannabis was found inside packages labelled "Food Storage Naturally - MAGIC VAC - made in Italy" hidden within a container carrying commodities used as raw materials for animal feed production, the police said Monday.

On December 11, the container was transported by vessel to Lach Huyen Port in Hai Phong. A company in Hanoi's Long Bien District was listed as the receiver.

A day later, the company carried out customs declarations for the goods. After customs clearance, all goods inside the container were transported from the port to the company's warehouse.

Four days later, the container was transported to Chan That Hai Phong Depot in Dinh Vu Industrial Park, awaiting new packaging.

Suspecting the container contained drugs, police and customs officers conducted an urgent inspection, discovering the cannabis packages hidden at the back of the container.

Cannabis is on the list of narcotics forbidden in Vietnam.

Those producing, transporting, trading or storing cannabis face between one to 10 years in prison.