PHNOM PENH: Police in southern Vietnam have arrested five people accused of smuggling 5.6 kilograms of heroin into the country through the Cambodia border.
Officers in Ho Chi Minh City cooperated with their colleagues in Tay Ninh Province at the border to bust the ring on Tuesday, arresting the alleged ringleader Nguyen Van Phu, 51.
Police said his accomplices, aged between 30 and 35, helped him sell illicit drugs in HCMC.
They also seized a cash amount worth US$234,500.
Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Those convicted of smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face the death penalty.
The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death.
