Dien Bien police seize 135 bricks of heroin, 500,000 synthetic drug pills

The trio were captured at Muong Lay town on March 27.

Besides the drugs and synthetic pills, the police also seized a car, a mortorbike, and other objects of evidence.

This is the large drugs trafficking case with the largest quantity of synthetic drug pills seized in the country so far, according to the police.

 According to the investigation agency, two out of the three arrested are residing in Dien Bien province while the other is a foreigner. The police declined to reveal their names as they will expand their investigation further.

 Earlier on January 3 this year, the provincial Drug Crime Investigation Office arrested two persons transporting 489 bricks of heroin weighing 171kg and worth US$3 million, the biggest-ever drug case detected in Vietnam, according to the local police.

 Drug-trafficking remains a major issue in Vietnam, especially at border areas, including Dien Bien, which is bordered by Pu’er city in China’s southern Yunnan province to the northwest and Laos’ Phongsaly province to the west.

 Nearly 21,471 drug-trafficking cases were reported in 2017, up 14.5% from 2016, according to a report on collaboration among the Police General Department, the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam Border Guard High Command and Vietnam Coast Guard.

 Some 32,950 suspects were detained, a 13.6% increase over 2016’s figure.

 Statistics from the Vietnam Border Guard showed that the amount of synthetic drugs and marijuana seized in 2017 through the border of Vietnam and Laos respectively increased seven times and twice compared with 2016.