Customs successfully closed two specialized projects, seized 218 bars of heroin

Hundreds of bars of heroin were seized

By implementing the direction of the National Committee for Drug Prevention and Action month of drugs prevention in 2018, the Minister of Finance and the General Director of Vietnam Customs have directed the entire customs sector to actively implement professional measures and coordinate closely with competent authorities and forces to perform this important task.

With the close supervision of the leaders at all levels and in less than two months, the Southern Drug Enforcement Team (Unit 6) - Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department - General Department of Vietnam Customs, Police Department of Criminal Investigation on Drugs (C47B) - Ministry of Public Security, Southern Special Forces (Group 3) - Border Defense force, Police Division of Criminal Investigation on Drugs (PC47) – HCM City Police and other competent forces successfully destroyed two large specialized projects, arrested 19 people, seized 218 bars of heroin, more than 30 kg of meth and more than 100,000 tablets of synthetic drugs, 4 cars and many related documents.

According to Unit 6, through grasping the situation and information gathering from the sources, they discovered the line of drug trafficking and transportation from Laos to Vietnam. Implementing the specialized project 168H of the Ministry of Public Security, specialized project H518 of Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department - General Department of Vietnam Customs, the units and competent forces have synchronously implemented professional measures and arrested the leader of the drugs trafficking line who was P.H.H (was born in 1970, lives in Ho Chi Minh City).

P.H.H. had contacted other drug traffickers from the border of Laos through a border gate in Middle area (Quang Binh) to slip into Vietnam. The competent forces closely monitored and supervised the above drugs which were transported by motorbike turn by turn to HCM City and delivered to 2 people. At 5:30 PM on 11/7/2018, when the subjects delivered the package, the scouts simultaneously arrested and searched seven places which were storing drugs, discovering 179 bars of heroin, 70 million VND, 450,000 Kip, $US 850, 2 cars and arrested 7 people.

Earlier, by the end of May 2018, Unit 6 of the Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department - General Department of Vietnam Customs together with competent forces (C47B, Southern Border Special Task Force, PC47 Ho Chi Minh City, My Quy Tay Customs Branch - Long An,...) also successfully destroyed the specialized project LA318 and arrested the head of the drug trafficking line and transport from Cambodia through My Quy Tay border gate in Long An province to Vietnam. As a result, 12 people were arrested; collected 103,000 tablets of ecstasy, 39 bars of heroin, about 30 kg of meth, cars, motorbikes and related paperwork.

Those were the two specialized projects with largest amount of drugs that had been arrested in the region, cutting off two major transnational drug trafficking lines from Laos and Cambodia to Vietnam, relating to many geographical areas with many participants. The main subjects in this line operated a sophistic and reckless multi-mode operation. The subjects used cars with Laos control plates for transportation to Vietnam or transported through trails and openings, gathering in the area near the border gate and then transporting to Ho Chi Minh City for consumption.

In order to catch those subjects in this huge drug transport line, the competent forces have coordinated smoothly, divided into the scouting groups to track and monitor the subjects from the Chalo border gate (Quang Binh) and inland to "catch" the whole line, and arrested the leader.

By successfully destroying those two big specialized projects, it has shown the efforts and determination to fight against drug criminals by the drug enforcement forces in general and the Southern drug enforcement unit (Unit 6) under the Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department in particular.

Currently, all the objects and evidence have been handed over to the Investigation agency of the Ministry of Public Security for handling and further investigation.