Mass arrests of air transported marijuana

Dry marijuana was found in gift shipments..

Several arrests each day

Over the past 3 months, Customs Sub-Department of Tan Son Nhat International Airport has coordinated with the Southern Drug Control Team (Team 6) - Department of Anti-Smuggling Investigation, General Department of Customs, Drug Control Team - Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City, and have detected and arrested dozens of illegal transport of leaves and dried marijuana sent as gifts via air. One day, the combined forces discovered two packages of gift that contained dry marijuana. According to the anti-drug force - the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City, the transportation of dry marijuana has never been discovered as much as recently.

In January, the Customs Sub-Department of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in conjunction with Team 6, Anti-Drug Control Team - Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City detected 3 shipments of blue dried herbs that were hidden in gifts. Inspection results at the Criminal Science Institute in Ho Chi Minh City concluded that there were drugs (leaves, marijuana flowers). The total weight of cannabis spotted in 3 gift packages was nearly 6 kg. Especially, the delivery of gifts on Jan. 27, 2018, were to be sent to the recipient, Mr. T.T.P. (born in 1995, living in Can Giuoc, Long An). Through the screening process, the Customs Department detected 21 blue packets containing dried green herbs and 1 nylon bag containing white powder with a total weight of 3.14 kg. The results of the inspection of all dried herbs, green leaves and marijuana flowers, had a total weight of 2,624 kg.

With high alertness, in February and March of 2018, the Customs agency detected 15 illegal shipments of dry marijuana, with a total weight of over 26 kg, five times more than in January 2018. In particular, there were gift packages hidden to dozens of packages of nylon containing dried marijuana. Typically, the gift was sent from the United States to the recipient, Mr. Nguyen Son, born in 1988, in Ninh Thuan. Screening revealed the items, and the customs inspectors discovered a package containing 22 nylon bags of flowers, blue dried marijuana leaves, with a total weight of 2.8 kg ...

The police are extending the investigation

According to anti-drug forces - Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City’s assessment, from the beginning of 2018 to now, the situation of cannabis shipping from the US to HCMC via air (mainly in the form of gifts) has increased sharply. This situation started to appear from the end of 2017, the subjects sending them as postal gifts to recipients in Ho Chi Minh City. However, from the beginning of 2018 until now, lots of gifts containing narcotics have been discovered through Tan Son Nhat International Airport. These marijuana transports were packed with flowers, dried marijuana leaves in nylon bags, and then mixed with other goods, hidden in gift packages. The recipients are people in the southern provinces, but also in some northern border provinces.

Through the inspection and detection of abnormal signs, the Customs Sub-Department of Tan Son Nhat International Airport has coordinated with the anti-drug forces of the Customs Department of Ho Chi Minh City and General Department of Customs to inspect and tightly control the shipments of gifts suspected of containing drug for key investigations and have repeatedly detected multiple violations.

Nearly 30 kilograms of narcotics have been found over the past few years showing that the illicit transit of narcotics from the key routes is very complex. The tricks using in these cases are very sophisticated. They were camouflaged in boxes of cakes, candy, coffee, tea bags ... hidden in packages as personal items. It is so difficult to detect without high professional skills and support machinery. Currently, all 18 files of narcotics illegal transportation have been handed over by the Customs Sub-Department at the border gate of Tan Son Nhat International Airport to the police agency for extending the investigation.