Vietnam busts drug-trafficking ring, seizing 700 kg of meth

HANOI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Police of Vietnam's central Nghe An province have cracked down on a transnational drug trafficking ring, confiscating 700 kg of crystal methamphetamine, local media reported on Thursday.

The police arrested three members of the ring on Wednesday while they were dumping the drug on roadside in Nghe An's Quynh Luu district in a move to escape, detained another member later, and are hunting down the ringleader who is a foreigner, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Also on Wednesday, police of northern Son La province detained a 38-year-old man for trafficking 20 cakes of heroin weighing nearly 6.5 kg and 198 pills of lab-made drug, daily newspaper Cong An Nhan Dan (People's Police) reported.

According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty.