Police probe into 65 persons linked with drug trafficking via Tan Son Nhat Airport

Some of the drugs hidden in toothpaste tubes carried by four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants from France to Tan Son Nhat Airport on March 16. (Source: HCM City Customs Department)

HCM City – Police of Ho Chi Minh City have launched investigation into 22 cases involving 65 persons for drug-related charges and dealt with 12 persons involved in administrative violations, while probing into some flight attendants’ smuggling of drugs from France to Tan Son Nhat Airport on March 16.

Police said they found that the four female flight attendants linked with this case had been taken advantage of by some overseas Vietnamese to smuggle drugs from France to Vietnam.

In 30 days, police in coordination with other forces uncovered six more related batches of goods with drugs hidden inside carried from France to different airports in Vietnam.

Drugs were concealed in parcels of goods such as toothpaste or nutritional supplements. After arriving in Vietnam, they would be sent via domestic express delivery services to places in HCM City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai, among others as directed by overseas ringleaders, according to police.

On March 16, customs officers of Tan Son Nhat International Airport detected suspicious signs in the luggage of four Vietnam Airlines attendants boarding Flight VN10 from France. They checked and found more than 8kg of ecstasy pills and over 3kg of cocaine and ketamine (the most expensive type of drugs).

The attendants said they had agreed to bring 60kg of goods from France to Vietnam in exchange for over 10 million VND (426 USD). Due to tiredness after a long flight, they only took a cursory glance at some of the goods and did not notice any suspicious signs. Authorities in France also did not discover drugs in their luggage.

On March 22 evening, after six days of investigation, the four flight attendants were freed as HCM City police concluded that they had not known drugs had been hidden in 157 of the toothpaste tubes they carried. Police also launched an investigation into this drug trafficking case and put two suspects into temporary detention.

There could be up to 100 persons involved in this particularly big drug trafficking ring from Europe to Vietnam, HCM City police estimated.