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Police in the northern province of Lai Chau have arrested a man for allegedly smuggling nearly 6 kilograms of heroin.
Vang A Sua, 22, was caught at 1 p.m. on Saturday carrying the heroin in Sin Ho District, VietnamPlus reported Monday.
Police said Sua plays a key role in a trafficking ring which smuggles drugs from Lai Chau and Dien Bien through Lao Cai Province into China.
Lai Chau police will continue to launch crackdowns on drug crimes, especially over the next two months before the Lunar New Year holiday.
Lai Chau, about 400 km from Hanoi, is right next to China’s Yunnan Province.
Also on Saturday, six Vietnamese and Laotian people were arrested for smuggling 100 kilograms of heroin and 60 kilograms of marijuana.
Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 75 kilograms of marijuana, more than 600 grams of heroin, or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face the death penalty.
The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death.
Although the laws are strictly enforced with capital punishment handed down regularly, drug trafficking continues in border areas. Several drug raids are reported at the Vietnam-Laos border every month.
Related news:
> Six arrested in drug smuggling busts over the weekend
> Drug addicts overpower guards to escape rehab center in Vietnam, yet again
