Trial in Noong Het

(Baonghean) - On June 11, in Noong Het Town, Xieng Khouang Province, Laos, the Anti-drug Crime Prevention Department of Nghe An Border Guard, Nam Can International Border Gate Border Guard Station and Muong Tip Border Guard Station in coordination with Xieng Khouang Provincial Police, Laos successfully fought against Project 330 LV. Accordingly, they arrested 2 key subjects in a large drug trafficking ring from Laos to Vietnam for consumption, seized 20 heroin cakes and 5,000 synthetic drug pills.

Recently, the activities of subjects illegally buying, selling, transporting and storing narcotics in the two provinces of Nghe An - Vietnam and Xieng Khouang - Laos have been taking place with increasingly sophisticated methods. Emerging in areas such as Phon Xa Van Town, Muong Pec, Muong Kham, Noong Het - Laos; Nam Can, Muong Tip - Ky Son (Nghe An). In that situation, the work of fighting, preventing crime, and preventing and combating drugs has always received the attention of the authorities of the two provinces of Nghe An and Xieng Khouang. Especially the coordination in exchanging information as well as in the fight against and combating drugs between the two forces of the Border Guard of Nghe An province and the Police of Xieng Khouang province.

Nghe An Border Guard handed over the evidence and the suspect to Xieng Khouang Provincial Police (Laos).

Their method is to connect with Vietnamese people to sell drugs in large quantities. Once they have connected, they will test the ability and capacity of each subject. If they meet the requirements, they will quickly contact the owners in Luang Prabang or Sam Neua - Hua Phan - Laos to quickly transport the goods to Phonsavan - Laos to gather and disguise them in agricultural or forestry products to mislead the authorities.

To have a basis for establishing a case and fighting to destroy it, Nghe An Border Guard sent elite scouts directly to Laos to verify. After 3 months of "working hard", the scouts identified an illegal drug trafficking ring.

On April 11, 2014, Project 330 LV was established, the drug traffickers were Mong people in Laos, always fully equipped with firearms, disguised under the guise of grocery store owners, butchers... and ready to fight back fiercely when surrounded and arrested. In addition, to avoid being detected, they constantly changed locations, transported drugs using many different methods and tricks, so the surrounding and arrest needed to be carefully calculated and meticulous.

Through the process of verification, approach, and monitoring of movements, the detectives identified Tong Lo, (40 years old) and Lau Lo, (27 years old), both Lao Mong people living in Noong Het district, Xieng Khouang province, as the two leaders of a large transnational drug ring from Phon Xa Van town, Xieng Khouang province (Laos) to Vietnam for consumption. To avoid being detected by the masses and authorities, Tong Lo disguised himself as a pork butcher in Noong Het town, Xieng Khouang province (Laos).

The identities and backgrounds of the suspects have been determined, but to catch them red-handed and ensure the safety of the forces participating in the investigation is not simple. Through verification, the task force learned that the above subjects operate in a tightly organized, closed-off family and reckless manner, ready to fiercely fight back against the authorities to escape. In particular, they are highly vigilant, always have people following them, regularly probing the activities of the authorities, the terrain of the investigation in Laos has many steep hills and dangerous abysses, and the language barrier is also an obstacle for the investigation force.

Through secret sources, around mid-June 2014, the drug ring led by Tong Lo agreed with its partners to transport a large amount of drugs to Vietnam for consumption. Determining that the opportunity had come, the Border Guard of Nghe An province had 3 meetings with the Police of Xieng Khouang province (Laos) to coordinate the deployment of undercover forces, determined to capture the subjects at their transaction locations.

According to the assessment of the Special Task Force, Noong Het Town is the hometown of Tong Lo, so this subject is very familiar with the terrain, and this will be the ideal place for them to deliver the goods, and the plan and method to capture the subject have been deployed by the Special Task Force. At about 10:40 a.m. on June 11, 2014, in Noong Het Town, Xieng Khouang Province - Laos. Nghe An Border Guard forces in coordination with Xieng Khouang Provincial Police (Laos) successfully fought Project No. 330 LV, destroying a drug trafficking ring from Laos to Vietnam. Arrested 2 subjects, seized a large amount of drugs. At the scene, the functional forces seized evidence including 20 heroin cakes, 5,000 synthetic drug pills, 1 car, 1 motorbike and many other related evidence. In addition to 20 heroin cakes, this is the largest amount of synthetic drugs ever seized by Nghe An Border Guard.

Currently, the evidence and the suspect have been handed over by the Nghe An Border Guard to the Laotian Xieng Khouang Provincial Police for further investigation and handling.

Assessing Project 330 LV, Colonel Nguyen Truong Thi, Head of the Drug Crime Prevention Department of Nghe An Border Guard said: “This can be said to be a successful project when the forces fighting the case were absolutely safe, the forces of both sides coordinated very well. The ringleaders were arrested.”

Article and photos:Hai Thuong