Vietnam court gives 11 death sentences in drug case
Bbc · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A court in Ho Chi Minh City has sentenced 11 defendants to death in one of Vietnam’s largest drug trafficking cases, according to state media reports. The case involved 227 accused people in total, with penalties ranging from 18 months in prison to life imprisonment, depending on each defendant’s role in the network. Investigators said the operation smuggled drugs from France into Vietnam by hiding them in everyday consumer goods and using couriers, delivery services and concealed financial channels. Authorities said the investigation began after four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants arriving from Paris in March 2023 were found carrying more than 10kg of drugs in 157 toothpaste tubes.
Key Points
- The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced 11 people to death after convicting them in a drug trafficking case involving 227 accused defendants overall.
- Among those condemned was alleged mastermind Ha Danh Nam, whom investigators said organised shipments of drugs from France into Vietnam
- Prosecutors said the network hid MDMA, ketamine and other narcotics inside toothpaste tubes and goods such as supplements, detergent, mouthwash and coffee
- Authorities said the four flight attendants were not prosecuted after investigators concluded they had unknowingly transported the drugs from Paris.
- Prosecutors linked nearly 29 trillion Vietnamese dong in transactions to the network, which used encrypted messaging apps and bank accounts in other people’s names
Why It Matters
The case shows the scale and sophistication of cross-border drug trafficking routes moving through major aviation hubs and parcel channels, an issue closely watched in international cities such as Hong Kong. It also underlines Vietnam’s continued use of the death penalty in serious narcotics cases, with punishments calibrated to defendants’ roles from leaders to accomplices