Airborne drug trafficking ‘on the rise’

The Ministry of Public Security’s anti-drug police division announced on Thursday that the transport of drugs through air routes has been “on the rise” lately, with most drugs mainly transported from Europe, which offers high purity and low prices.

Postal services and flight passengers are often exploited by criminals for drug trafficking, investigators said.

Over the past five years, police have tackled 276 cases of drug trafficking, with 110 suspects arrested and tens of thousands of kilograms of drugs seized, police said.

“But within the first three months of 2023 alone, the amount of drugs seized has already increased five-fold,” police said, adding that at Hanoi’s Noi Bai Airport, authorities have already handled 10 drug cases, leading to 21 suspects arrested and 600 kg of drugs seized.

The leaders of such drug trafficking cases are mostly Vietnamese who live abroad and cooperate with local criminals to traffic contraband.

A recent high-profile drug trafficking case involving four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants flying from France to Vietnam in March has resulted in 65 people arrested on suspicion of multiple crimes. 50 kg of drugs have been seized in total.

Vietnam currently has around 200,000 drug addicts and 60,000 people illegally using drugs, according to the public security ministry.