Hard to settle criminal case of shipments of Khat leaves in Hai Phong due to unclear regulations

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Khat leaves were seized on 12th May 2017. Photo: N. Quoc.

On 15th May 2017, according to the information source of the Customs Department, Hai Phong Customs Department completed the counting of Khat leaves in a 40 Ft container on 12th May 2017 with an amount of 3.002 tonnes.

Thus, the two recent cases of Khat leaves in Hai Phong have been the largest cases in Vietnam. The earlier case in March 2017 had a total weight of 2.6 tonnes.

Related to the handling of violations of the above-mentioned cases, Hai Phong authorities have not yet been able to prosecute criminal cases.

Reportedly, one of the difficulties made competent authorities to handle criminal cases is that there are currently no clear regulations on the handling of these narcotics leaves.

Accordingly, not only cases in Hai Phong, but cases related to Khat leaves in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi which were coordinated by Customs officers and relevant forces have not yet been brought to court.

At the second session, the XIV National Assembly (October 2016), in the Statement of the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Penal Code No. 100/2015 / QH13, the Government proposed additional criminal handling for the sale and transportation of new drugs, including XLR-11 (impregnated in US grass) and Khat leaves (containing Cathinone narcotics) as defined in Article 248, 249, 250, 251 and 252.

According to Mrs. Le Thi Nga, the Chairwoman of the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee said: "The majority of the opinions of the Judiciary Committee agreed with the view of the Government on the supplementation of XLR-11 narcotic (impregnated in US grass) and Khat leaves (containing Cathinone).

"The fact has shown that drug crimes have been unpredictable and likely to appear in many kinds of plants, leaves, flowers, fruits ... containing narcotics to ensure timely requests for drugs prevention", Mrs. Le Thi Nga emphasised.

Hai Phong: 3 tons of Khat leaves seized for the first time VCN – Nearly 3 tons of Khat leaves (a kind of leaf containing narcotics) has been detected ...

However, the Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Penal Code 100/2015 / QH13 has not yet been approved by the National Assembly at the second session. Therefore, there are no specific regulations on dealing with Khat leaves.