Police seized a pack of methamphetamine and ecstasy pills during a raid in Thong Nhat District of Dong Nai Province, where 23 out of 28 partygoers tested positive for banned substances.

The group said after a friend’s birthday party, they had visited the house of 22-year-old Do Tien Hung to indulge in narcotics.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hai Au, head of the Thong Nhat District Police Department, said the gathering was broken up to help contain the resurging Covid-19 threat while also maintaining order in the district.

Vietnam implements very strict measures against the production, trafficking and distribution of drugs, including the death penalty, though with little effect.

Since August 1, Dong Nai has shut down non-essential services like karaokes, bars, clubs and limited gatherings due to the new outbreak of Covid-19 in July.

The province has recorded one Covid-19 case, a 50-year-old woman who returned from Da Nang, the country’s current Covid-19 hotspot.