Crystal meth kits openly sold in HCM City
An increasing number of street vendors and medical shops in Ho Chi Minh City have been openly selling tools used for smoking crystal meth, as authorities struggle to come up with a permanent solution.
According to several users, the kits can be easily purchased from cigarette and drink vendors on the streets or at shops that sell medical equipment.
At an outlet on Bui Vien Street, in the ‘backpacker area’ of the southern metropolis, users can acquire the tools simply by asking short, direct questions.
One vendor quickly produced a glass pipe, about 20 centimeters long, contained in a paper box and offered it for sale at VND35,000 (US$1.6).
Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters approached another drinks vendor near the Le Dai Hanh roundabout in District 11 and were offered similar instruments for VND30,000 (US$1.3) each.
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| A woman smokes crystal meth at a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. |
The vendor in question even demonstrated how to fix cracks in the tools, adding that his shop stocked full kits for smoking crystal meth, consisting of a glass container and pipe, available for between VND120,000 (US$5) and VND150,000 (US$6.7) per set.
Crystal meth pipes were also being sold by one sticky rice vendor on Cach Mang Thang 8 Street in District 10, for VND45,000 (US$2) each.
“Take a quick look. All of them are the same,” the female dealer said after unwrapping the products.
At another store trading in medical supplies on Thanh Thai Street, also in District 10, the instruments are offered for VND20,000 (US$1), with the shopkeeper saying that they were made in Vietnam.
From ordinary to premium
The tools for smoking the drug also come in different shapes and sizes, with prices varying dependent on the quality and design of the products.
At a street stall selling cigarettes along Truong Chinh Street, Tan Binh District, one woman showed the undercover journalists a glass container that included a flashlight in multiple colors, available for sale at VND100,000 (US$4.5).
According to the vendor, the tools are either produced in Vietnam or imported from China.
Selling a premium version of the equipment at a much higher price, a nearby shopkeeper named To advertised his crystal meth tool kits with shapes ranging from tigers to a pair of dragons.
The sets were being sold for between VND2.2 million (US$98.5) and VND22 million (US$985), To said, adding that they could be used for other stimulants, namely cocaine and marijuana.
According to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Vo Van Trai, an official at the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Police, regular inspections have been carried out and penalties imposed upon those facilities that were selling the illegal items.
First timers are slapped with a predetermined fine amount and given a warning while those who repeat the crime are punished depending on the severity of the individual case, the police official stated.
