Forces of Vietnam, Laos bust drug gang, seize 39,400 tablets

August 14, 2015 | 09:47

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Border guards in the north-central Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa have coordinated with their Laotian counterparts in arresting four Laotians from a large drug gang in the Lao province of Houaphanh.

The joint force seized 39,400 drug tablets from the gang after detaining four members, whose names are translated into Vietnamese as Thao Giang Ho, Thao Bi Tho, Nang Chu Ho and Chong Va Tho, on Monday, the Border Guard Headquarters of the north-central province of Thanh Hoa reported on Wednesday.

The arrests were made after an investigation by Thanh Hoa border guards into the gang, which carried out cross-border drug trafficking from Laos to Vietnam.

At 4:00 pm on August 10, the provicial border guard force, in conjunction with a security unit of the Lao province of Houaphanh, caught Ho, a 55-year-old man, with four synthetic drug tablets.

Ho told the joint force that he had bought the drugs from a Laotian woman, Nang Chu Ho, 49, and her son, Thao Bi Tho, 35, both from Xam Neua, the capital city of Houaphanh.

The force then apprehended the woman and her son, and confiscated 27,400 drug tablets, 200 grams of heroin, US$30,000 and 13 million Lao kips in cash from the woman’s house.

Based on the testimony of the detainees, later the same day the force arrested the last of the four traffickers, Chong Va Tho, 40, also in Houaphanh, and seized 12,000 drug tablets from him.

On Wednesday, all the detainees and the drugs were handed over to Houaphanh police for handling.

This case is considered the largest that has ever been busted by Thanh Hoa border guards in coordination with their Laotian counterparts in Houaphanh Province.

Yesterday, the Thanh Hoa Province Border Guard Headquarters visited the Laotian security police in Houaphanh and gave a reward of VND30 million ($1,360) to the Lao units that had helped break up the drug gang.