A VOV reporter interviewed lieutenant-general Pham Quy Ngo, head of the Crime Prevention General Department under the Ministry of Public Security.

VOV: How did the police manage to ensure all citizens across the country for a safe and sound Tet.

Mr Ngo: This is good news that almost no major incidents have occurred so far. However, during the nine days of Tet, there were 715 criminal cases, up 5.3 percent compared to last year. Some crimes, such as robberies, thefts and acts of resisting law enforcement officers, decreased. Police at local levels handled 264 cases and arrested 376 people.

I think this year’s violations increased but we achieved significant results.

We encountered 34 smuggling cases and 31 cases of trafficking and transporting drugs. The Tien Giang police uncovered a gold smuggling ring, seizing 92kg of gold and thousands of boxes of cigarettes.

VOV: What happened in the cases of resisting law enforcement officers?

Mr Ngo: These cases were very audacious, such as attacking a traffic policeman in Lai Chau, stabbing a policeman in Ha Tinh and shotting a militiaman in Can Tho.

Before Tet, 16 drug dealers battled police in Hoa Binh province, killing three and injuring 9 others.

In one case, criminals posed as police and when they were detected they shot a police officer. Sometimes, criminals are very reckless and act unpredictably.

VOV: What measures did the police use to fight crime?

Mr Ngo: We must maintain unwavering spirit and never shrink from sacrifices. With nearly 18,000 drug-users, the fight is very difficult, requiring the police to be decisive and clever to minimize our losses. It is difficult to avoid taking casualties in the fight against criminals.

We need to coordinate with other relevant agencies and provide modern facilities and training courses for the officers whose duty it is to investigate and combat crime.

VOV: Thank you very much.