Vietnamese border guards have seized 20 heroin bricks from a member of a ring that has trafficked drugs from Laos to Vietnam over the past three years. 

>> Vietnam-Laos joint force busts drug ring, seizing 92 bricks of heroin

An anti-drug team from the High Command of the Border Guard in the central province of Nghe An caught Ha Ba Cu, a local 23-year-old man, carrying the heroin – which weighed about 7 kg – from Laos to Vietnam on Sunday. Cu was examined and seized when he was crossing the Nam Can International Border Gate in Nghe An at 12:20 am yesterday. Border guards seized the heroin, along with a cell phone and some papers, from Cu. He was charged with “illegally transporting drugs” pursuant to Article 194 of the Penal Code, the team said. Cu told investigators that he illegally crossed the border to enter Laos in 2011 and has lived in Lac Xao town of Bolykhamsay province since then. He also joined a transnational trafficking ring that included many Laotians and other Vietnamese people. The ring was well organized and had sophisticated operations, Cu said. He admitted that he had successfully carried drugs from Laos into Vietnam through the border several times before being arrested on Sunday. The border guard force is expanding its investigation to track down others involved in the ring. Another drug trafficking ring on the Laos - Vietnam border was uncovered in the north-central province of Ha Tinh on December 13. A joint force of provincial border guards and Laotian police officers arrested six people and seized 92 heroin bricks weighing about 32 kg in a hamlet in the Laotian province of Bolykhamsay. The force also seized two cars and 60,520 Thai Baht (US$1,844) in cash from the ring.

The detainees are aged 17 to 44, including two with residences in Thailand, one of American nationality, and another of Burmese nationality, while the rest are Laotians – including a woman.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!