Taiwanese men arrested in HCMC with 300 kilos of heroin

By Quoc Thang   March 27, 2019 | 07:37 pm PT
Taiwanese men arrested in HCMC with 300 kilos of heroin
Packs of drug seized in Hoc Mon District on Ho Chi Minh City outskirts on March 27, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Tuan
HCMC police Wednesday night detained two Taiwanese men transporting more than 300 kilos (661 pounds) of heroin.

The drug was packed in nearly 900 packages in a truck found in Hoc Mon District on the city outskirts. The vehicle is registered in the northern Thai Nguyen Province and was driven by a 30-year-old Vietnamese driver, who was also arrested.

Police are looking for another Taiwanese man who escaped during the police check. They are also searching a series of suspicious locations in the area that could be used as warehouses and meeting points by drug dealers.

They said that the latest seizure was part of evidence that drug crime has "developed complicatedly" in HCMC. The southern hub is showing signs of becoming a transit point for drugs to be distributed to other countries later, the police added.

On March 20, a raid was carried out by hundreds of police officers and border guards netted 16 Chinese nationals including Wu Heshan, 56, the suspected ring leader, three Vietnamese and one Lao national as well as a pickup truck with about 300 kilos of meth.

It was found out later that the ring operated nationwide, and was linked to two seizures of around 300 kilos each in central Vietnam in October last year and February this year.

On March 22, Vietnam customs police and Filipino police also joined hands to seize 270 kilos of meth that the gang had transported to the Philippines via the sea. 

Vietnam has become a key trafficking hub for narcotics around the Golden Triangle, an intersection of China, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar and the world's second-largest drug producing region.

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

 
 
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