Brigadier General Nguyen Van Vien. Photo: T.Bình

At a press conference on December 1, Brigadier General Nguyen Van Vien, Director of Drug-related crime Investigation Police Department (C04, Ministry of Public Security), spoke about three major drug projects that were successfully handled by the unit.

Taking advantage of "green channel" vehicles to smuggle drugs

On September 28, 2021, in Thai Xuyen commune, Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province, C04 cooperated with Thai Binh Provincial Police to destroy a line of drug trafficking and illegal transportation from Son La to Thai Binh.

The suspects hid the drugs in boxes of fruit, taking advantage of the "green channel" to clear the checkpoint.

The forces arrested Ha Duy Thai (31, from in Thai Binh) and seized 7kg of ketamine, 6 packages of heroin, and 11,800 pills of synthetic drugs.

Through conducting a search of Thai's residence, 11,000 tablets of synthetic drugs, one package of heroin, 1kg of ketamine, a gun, a revolver, eight bullets and other related evidence was found.

Photo provided by C04

From the collected documents and search of Ha Van Thinh's residence, 29 years old (Thai's younger brother), the police seized 3.3kg of synthetic drugs, six packages of heroin, two guns with 20 bullets.

Expanding the case, on November 3, 2021, the Special Project Committee executed an emergency restraining order for Tang Thi Hong Tam, 23 years old and Vu Duc Sinh, 51 years old in Hai Duong, seizing 2kg of synthetic drugs.

The Investigative Police Agency of the Ministry of Public Security has prosecuted the case, prosecuted four accused, and continued to expand the case.

Special project 177N destroyed a transnational drugs line

At the end of 2020, C04 discovered a line of illegal trading and transportation of drugs in large quantities from Laos through Nghe An, Ha Tinh to HCM City for consumption. C04 established a special project with number 177N, gathered its forces and coordinated with professional units of the Ministry of Public Security and local police units.

After a long time of scouting, the special project committee identified that the leader of this criminal line was Nguyen The Thanh, 31 years old, residing in Thua Thien Hue.

Despite his young age, Thanh had gained a reputation. The source of drugs was bought by Thanh from Laos, transported through trails and gathered in remote locations in the border areas of Nghe An or Ha Tinh. Then, it was transported by road to Ho Chi Minh City and sold to Vo Thi Tuyet Hong, 32 years old.

Supporting Thanh was Nguyen The Lap, 23 years old, the younger brother of the "boss". Lap was trusted by his brother to receive drugs at the border and transport them to Ho Chi Minh City. During transportation, Lap hired three more people included Nguyen Van Thang, Tran Quang Tai (both 31 years old and living in Nghe An) and Che Quang Khoi, 20 years old, from Thua Thien Hue.

Photo provided by C04

Thanh did not directly deliver drugs, but he ran the entire operation of the line remotely via social media. In order to avoid the control of competent authorities, the suspects delivered and received drugs at the border at midnight.

At the beginning of June 2021, the Special Project Committee received information that the suspects were preparing to transfer drugs in large quantities to Vietnam. Under the direction of Nguyen The Thanh, Thanh’s accomplices rented cars to the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the border area of ​​Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An to receive drugs.

After receiving the goods, the suspects stuffed them into suitcases and backpacks, then hid them under cars and delivered them to Vinh city, Nghe An province. There, the drugs were divided into small pieces to sell to Phan Duc Ha, 28 years old, in Nghe An. The rest were transferred to cars to ship to Ho Chi Minh City for consumption.

In the process of transporting banned goods, the suspects often changed vehicles and routes to avoid the tracking of competent authorities.

The Special Project Committee decided to deploy nine scout teams to monitor the movements of people in many provinces and cities.

Implementing the plan, at dawn on June 15, 2021, at National Highway 13, Hiep Binh Phuoc ward, Thu Duc city (HCM City), competent forces caught Nguyen Van Thang and Che Quang Khoi while they were delivering suitcases and backpacks containing drugs. Also, 30kg of methamphetamine, one gun, nine bullets and many related documents were seized.

At the same time, the reconnaissance teams carried out a search and arrested five people in the line, including: Nguyen The Thanh; Nguyen The Lap; Tran Quang Tai; Vo Thi Tuyet Hong and Phan Duc Ha, seizing 2kg of drugs and related evidence.

The investigative police agency has handled the case, prosecuted six accused and continued to investigate and clarify.

Drug lord addicted to gambling

In January 2020, C04 discovered a line of illegal drug trafficking and transportation from Cambodia to Tay Ninh and then sent to Ho Chi Minh City for consumption in large quantities, this line transported from 30 to 40kg of drugs of all kinds each time. Realizing that this was a transnational drug trafficking line with a serious and complex nature, C04 established project number 121-V to fight and destroy the line.

Through the verification process, it was identified that the leader of the line was Tran Huynh Vu, 28 years old from Dong Thap. Vu did not have a stable job, and was homeless in Ho Chi Minh City.

Photo provided by C04

To earn money, Vu bought drugs and then divided them and sold them to addicts in the area. Passionate about gambling, Vu often went to Cambodia to play in casinos, or bet on cockfighting. After losing money, Vu hooked up with local tycoons to set up a line of transporting drugs to Vietnam for consumption.

After nearly a year of monitoring, in early November, the Special Project Committee received information that Vu was preparing to deliver a shipment to Ho Chi Minh City. The Special Project Committee decided to take action.

On the afternoon of November 8, 2021, at Tran Nhan Tong Street, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, C04 chaired and coordinated with the units to arrest Tran Huynh Vu while he was transporting drugs to Trinh Thanh Danh, 20 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City.

Exhibits were nearly 40kg of drugs including 4kg of ketamine; 13kg of methamphetamine; 20kg of synthetic drugs in tablet form, 1,000 packs of drugs, labelled with the Mercedes logo on the packaging. Through a search of Vu's home, the competent forces seized 300 grams of drugs and many related exhibits. At the investigation agency, the suspects admitted to the crime.