Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City discovered 3,479 instances of drug-related offenses, apprehended 8,326 individuals involved, and confiscated over 2,486 metric tons of synthetic drugs from the end of 2021 to mid-May.

The city’s Department of Public Security revealed the statistics at an event on joint efforts to combat drug-related crimes on Thursday.

Accordingly, the occurrences of drug-related violations recorded from December 15, 2021 to May 14 declined by 17.11 percent when compared to the period preceding the aforementioned timeframe, while the number of arrestees fell 20.7 percent.

A total of 36 guns, 462 bullets, and cash worth over VND4 billion (US$170,000) were confiscated.

The prosecution of 2,981 cases resulted in legal action against 4,073 defendants, marking a reduction of 692 cases and 738 defendants compared to the previous period. 

Additionally, 473 cases involving 4,190 individuals were handled administratively.

The municipal Department of Public Security evaluated that Ho Chi Minh City remains a key hub where criminal networks and organizations are actively involved in drug trafficking, both for local consumption and for smuggling to other countries through all means of transportation, from road, rail, sea, to air routes. 

Criminals persist in exploiting logistics companies, postal services, passengers’ baggage, and even flight attendants on international flights to Vietnam as conduits for drug transportation. 

Furthermore, they utilize social networking platforms for illicit drug trafficking activities.

The primary source of drugs remains the so-called Golden Triangle region, an area of northeast Myanmar that meets parts of Thailand and Laos with a long history of being a major drug-producing area.

The narcotics are then transported through Laos and Cambodia into localities in Vietnam’s central and Mekong Delta regions using less frequented routes along the border. 

Subsequently, they are further carried to Ho Chi Minh City via road and waterways.

For additional sources from Europe, America, and some other Asian countries, criminals utilized air routes and postal mail services such as express delivery, disguising drugs as shipments of goods, gifts, and non-commercial items.

Criminals also employed the guise of business investments to rent warehouses and yards to camouflage their illicit activities involving drug possession, transportation, and trading.

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