After Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper published the photo story “An open-air drug market in Saigon,” showing rampant drug trade and use around An Suong Bus Station on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, local police said they are determined to combat the illicit trade, but locals insist the market remains uncontrolled.  

L.V.B., a resident of Trung My Tay Ward in District 12, told Tuoi Tre that the drug market resumed normal operations on October 13, just one day after the photo investigation report was published. “Many drug traders and users still gathered in front of local houses. Some of them even showed one another gas ovens and clothes they had just stolen,” said B. 

There are an estimated 20 to 30 suspected drug dealers in the area, but police have only arrested a few of them so far, B. added.

According to B., locals dare not criticize drug-related crimes in the area for fear that they will be targeted for revenge by the dealers.

B., therefore, hoped that police would take strong measures to prevent the open drug trade.

“A guard station should be established to hinder drug-related operations in the area as a short-term solution,” said B. He added, “For a long-term solution, police have to be more determined to put down the illicit trade by taking stronger measures.”

The photo report by Tuoi Tre showed that many people living around the An Suong Bus Station live in fear, as drug buyers and sellers face little difficulty accessing illicit products in an open-air drug market.

The drug market, which operates all day, has severely affected the quality of life of many who live in a 1.5km long area stretching from the An Suong flyover to Trung Chanh intersection in District 12.Tuoi Tre Newspaper reporters, the authors of the photo report, said locals have to close their doors as early as 6pm on a daily basis to avoid risks from rampant drug dealing and use.

A local resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the daily newspaper that three people have been found dead from drug overdoses in front of her house since the beginning of the month. Drug addicts even defecate and urinate in front of houses in the area.

A man shoots heroin on a median strip close to An Suong bus station. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Others said there are 20 non-resident drug dealers operating around the bus station. According to them, the dealers disguise themselves as poor laborers wearing old clothes and carrying hand-bags. They work in three shifts on a daily basis: 5am to 8am, 11am to 2pm, and 4pm to 9pm. The drug dealers also pay commissions to xe om (motorbike taxi drivers) who solicit consumers to purchase their drugs.

Tuoi Tre reporters saw a suspected drug dealer being arrested by local police. However, the suspect was released after police failed to find drugs on him. The suspected dealers often hide drugs under trees planted on the medians along streets, or divide the products into smaller amounts and conceal them in cell phones or even in their rectums to avoid getting arrested.

No cover-up, neglect

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Tai, police chief of Ba Diem Commune in Hoc Mon District, which borders District 12, confirmed to Tuoi Tre that local police do not cover up for drug traders and users or neglect their crimes.

According to Tai, since the beginning of this year, police in Ba Diem commune have arrested many suspects for illegally possessing or using drugs. However, some of them have been released because the amount of drugs they used or possessed is not subject to criminal charges under Vietnam law.

Under the country’s laws, possession less than 0.1 grams of a drug is subject to an administrative fine, instead of a jail term.

The police chief added that local authorities also encouraged residents to install security cameras to prevent drug-related crimes in the vicinity.

“Since cameras were installed on July 2 this year, police have arrested 77 drug addicts, 14 people for unlawfully possessing drugs, and five or six people for illegally trading drugs,” Tai said. Tai pledged that in the future, the Ba Diem commune police will closely cooperate with concerned authorities to take necessary measures to arrest drug dealers operating around the An Suong Bus Station.

Lieutenant Colonel Do Van Lieu, chief of an investigative police force in District 12, said they have busted and charged many illegal drug trading cases around the bus station.

Vietnam's drug laws are among the toughest in the world. Under the country's penal code, anyone convicted of trafficking, illegally producing or transporting 100 grams or more of heroin or cocaine could face the deadth penalty.

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