Three caught with 40 kg of banned drugs

Hoang Van Hai, 30, Trang A Vu, 28, and Thao A Su, 28, were carrying a bag of drugs and waiting for a bus in Ky Son District Saturday when a police team intercepted them. The cops seized 20 kg of meth, 6.6 kg of heroin and 4 kg of ketamine.

The three told the police they had been hired by an unidentified Lao man to deliver the drugs from the central province of Nghe An to the northern province of Bac Kan, about 161 km to the north of Hanoi. A few days earlier, they had taken a bus from Bac Kan to the rural district of Ky Son, a taxi to the district's Chieu Luu Commune, and walked a few more kilometers to receive the drugs.

Ky Son Police said they had been investigating the trafficking case for the last two months.

Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws, including death for smuggling and trading, but drug busts continue to be a frequent occurrence.

Those convicted of possessing or smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face capital punishment. The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death.