After about four months of investigation, anti-drug police in Ho Chi Minh City have detained five members of a drug trading ring while seizing over 4 kg of drugs and US$110,000.

>> Vietnam seized nearly 30,000 drug dealers in 2012>> Police hold 8 drug traffickers with 70 drug cakes>> Vietnam police bust large transnational drug ring Vu Duc Long, 46, the ring’s leader, was arrested yesterday along with four accomplices, Nguyen Thi Tinh, 22, Phan Quang, 42, Le Nguyen Ngoc Tuong Luynh, 34, and Le Nguyen Nhat Linh, 30, and, Luynh’s younger brother. Long is a native of Nam Dinh but lives in Tan Binh District, while the other four are natives of HCMC. Major Tran Ngoc Minh, head of the Drug Crime Investigation Police Team of the HCMC Police, said police caught Long and Tinh delivering two heroin cakes (a cake weighs about 330 grams) to Quang in front of a house on Tan Hai Street in Tan Binh District, at 2 am December 4. While searching the house, police found and seized six more heroin cakes and 2 kg of methamphetamine, a type of synthetic drug. Based on evidence gathered from Quang’s testimony, police then raided Tinh’s house on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, seizing 300 grams of methamphetamine. Police also seized five motorbikes, two precision scales, more than VND200 million ($9,600), and US$100,000 in cash from the ring. Long told police that he and Tinh, his de facto wife, bought heroin and methamphetamine from northern provinces and then sold the drugs to other members in the ring, who would in turn resell the products to drug addict across the city. Long said he could sell a cake of heroin for VND195 million and a kilogram of methamphetamine for more than VND1.1 billion ($52,800). Police are continuing their investigation to track down others involved in the ring.

(From L) Le Nguyen Nhat Linh, Le Nguyen Ngoc Tuong Luynh, and Phan Quang (Photo: Tien Phong)