Nguyen Quang Thin, 32, of neighboring Quang Nam Province was found guilty of "illegally trading and trafficking narcotics."

His accomplices Ngo Van Truyen and Nguyen Van Loc, both 39 and from Quang Nam, received life sentences on the same charge.

Thin got in touch with a Vietnamese man in Germany identified as Tuan via a social network, and last October the latter suggested that Thin should form a gang to smuggle ecstasy from Europe to Vietnam.

A month later Thin received a consignment of 4,000 pills Tuan sent from Germany to Binh Duong Province near Ho Chi Minh City.

Thin ordered Loc to find buyers, and the latter contacted Truyen and the three worked together to distribute the ecstasy.

For every pill sold, Thin earned VND70,000 ($3.08) and gave half the money to Truyen.

Loc would meet customers directly and sell the pills at around VND150,000 each.

On November 9 the Da Nang drug prevention police caught Thin red-handed while he was on his way to deliver the drug to Lien Chieu District in the city, and seized 2,000 ecstasy pills from him.

The same day they also arrested Truyen and Loc in the city and found hidden in their car another 1,767 pills.

The two said they were on their way to deliver them to customers.

Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 g of heroin or over 2.5 kg of methamphetamine face death.