Fighting against drug crimes: Approaching "hot spots" in the West

(Baonghean) - With complex and rugged terrain, and a 419 km border with Laos, drug criminals often choose Western Nghe An as the starting point for drug trafficking and smuggling routes into the country; at the same time spreading "white death" to ethnic minorities living in this area...

The highlands of Tuong Duong entered the rainy season, the rains in the forest caused landslides, the stream water rose and swirled as if it wanted to swallow the cars crossing the spillway. The road to the center of Luong Minh commune was already a challenge, but getting to Dua village was extremely difficult and arduous. Before that, when we knew that we intended to go to Dua village, a drug hotspot of Luong Minh, our friends in Hoa Binh town all tried to stop us, saying that in addition to the dangerous roads, it was also a drug hotspot with the unpredictable and dangerous behavior of criminals related to this social evil...

Once a well-off village, Noong O (Huu Lap commune - Ky Son) is devastated by drug abuse.

Upon arriving at the village of Dua, the villagers, from old to young, all looked at us with scrutinizing eyes, perhaps they were guessing that we were the authorities or people who came to connect and set up a base to exchange "white goods". The men of the village, with their emaciated appearance, immediately moved to the stream bank or into the forest, and in an instant the village became quiet.

We asked and found the house of Village Chief Lo Van Du. He said that for generations, the Thai people in Dua village were only familiar with rice plants on the fields, bamboo shoots in the forest, fish in the streams, and did not know about the so-called heroin. However, the "white tornado" suddenly came, from Xop Mat, Minh Phuong up the Mat stream; from the top of Pu Cam, Pu Lom down, from Bao Thang, Chieu Luu down. Village life was suddenly turned upside down, many people no longer cared for the rice plants on the fields, corn plants in the fields, but climbed up to Pu Lom to work as lackeys for the "Mr. Meo" who came from the other side of the border. The "white ghost" wandered around the village, luring many people, mostly young and middle-aged people.

Residents of Dua village, Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong) are mostly elderly people, women and children.

When strangers hid in the forest to sell heroin, the security situation in the village of Dua became more complicated. Many people fell into a state of panic, because family members, brothers, and neighbors were handcuffed one by one or suddenly disappeared. The number of addicts in the village of Dua (with a management list) is currently up to 20... More notably, there are people who used to be commune and village officials who could not escape the charm of the "white ghost", participating in drug trafficking, some have been arrested and are serving sentences, others are under arrest.

Now, the majority of the population in Ban Dua is women and children. Men are addicted to drugs, have died of illness or are serving prison sentences. Some are on the run or in rehab. Some have decided to go far away to work to avoid the “white ghost.” So currently, about 70% of the households in Ban Dua are without men.

Village chief Lo Van Du said: “Previously, Dua village was quite peaceful. Since the authorities launched a strong crackdown in Minh Phuong and Xop Mat villages, drug criminals have retreated here to operate, turning Dua village into a new “base” for drug-related crimes. Compared to the other two villages, Dua village’s terrain is much more rugged, and the roads are difficult to travel, so the fight to push them away is very difficult.”

Que Phong district police arrested Sam Van Hoang, residing in Muong Mun village (Muong Noc) for illegally buying, selling and storing drugs.

From Tuong Duong, we went up to Ky Son district, to Huu Lap commune. The elderly in Huu Lap often mention Noong O village as a way to teach their children to take care of themselves, their family's order and the peace of the village by staying away from drug abuse. From a relatively well-off village in the commune, suddenly a "storm" of drugs flooded in, Noong O became desolate, desolate, theft was rampant, and the security and order situation became increasingly complicated.

Noong O is located more than 10km away from the commune center by forest road. After nearly 2 hours of "wrestling" with the "iron horse" on the steep, bumpy road, Noong O village appeared in the mist with roofs covered with cement tiles quietly in the middle of a valley with difficult terrain. At the end of the slope, a tall, well-dressed young man stood at the beginning of the road, waving his hand: "Are you journalists from the lowlands? This morning, the Commune Police Chief called and asked me to stay home and work with you guys." We breathed a sigh of relief because all the worries of the long journey had been removed...

The young man who welcomed us at the beginning of the village was Luong Van Man - the commune's permanent police officer. Man led the guests around the village, the small stilt houses were built quite simply next to each other. Noong O has nearly 100 households (over 500 people) of the Thai ethnic group. This is the border area between Huu Lap and the communes of Bao Nam, Pha Danh, Huoi Tu and Muong Long of the Ky Son highlands. According to Man, his grandfather told us that in the past, Noong O never went hungry, during the lean season, people from other villages came here to buy or exchange rice and corn to eat. The land and fields here were originally fertile, the people were industrious and hard-working... However, in just a short time, since strangers came, enticing villagers to inject and transport drugs, the village began to be devastated. More and more fields were abandoned, the houses were dilapidated and not repaired, hunger raged and threatened. Then there were people who died from ulcers all over their bodies.

According to data from Huu Lap Commune Police, Noong O currently has 26 drug addicts, 2 of whom are in prison. Taking advantage of the border area and rugged mountains, drug traffickers often hang around the forests around the village, so Noong O still cannot have a peaceful life. In other words, the Thai people in Noong O are still threatened by the "storm" of drugs, and people cannot feel secure about going to the fields to grow corn, rice, or raise buffaloes, cows...

After the trip to Noong O, we rested for a few days to regain our strength, then continued up National Highway 48 to the border district of Que Phong, where the situation of drug trafficking, transportation and use is painfully happening. Crossing the suspension bridge over the Nam Giai River, we stopped by Muong Mun village (Muong Noc commune). Along the way, groups of young people gathered to chat and always kept an eye on people entering and leaving the village. Almost every house was closed, either locked from the inside or locked from the outside.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the middle of the village, and the house next door was surrounded by people. Curious, we squeezed into the yard, just in time to see some people in plain clothes leading a young man in handcuffs out. His mother and younger brother followed him crying, while the young man remained calm and composed. Upon asking, we learned that the people leading him were soldiers from Que Phong District Police who had come to Muong Mun to fight a drug case. The arrested person was Sam Van Hoang (born in 1983), a suspect in drug trafficking; he had two previous convictions (40 months and 30 months in prison) for drug trafficking.

Muong Mun is a Thai village located along the Pu Ket range, in front is a large field, in the distance is the winding Nam Giai river. This area is adjacent to Chau Kim commune, near Kim Son town and the road to Chau Thon, Tri Le. In the past few years, the situation of drug trafficking, transportation and use in Muong Mun has become extremely complicated. The number of addicts in Muong Mun has always increased exponentially, and there are still no exact statistics. Approaching and arresting drug criminals in Muong Mun is not easy, because entering the village is only a single road over a suspension bridge and then through the field in front. From the houses on the mountainside, it is easy to observe all the movements on this road, meaning that anyone coming in or out cannot escape the sight of the villagers. Not to mention the groups of people sitting along the road acting as "watchdogs", when there is a movement, they immediately send out "signals" for the subjects to quickly retreat up the mountain. For that reason, the work of fighting drug crimes by the authorities encounters many difficulties and obstacles.

Captain Lo Trung Hieu, Captain of the Criminal - Economic - Drug Team of Que Phong District Police, said: “Muong Mun is a hot spot for drug trafficking, transportation and use in the district. The whole village has 17 retail outlets, with 24 people serving sentences for drug trafficking. The situation is still complicated, causing headaches and significantly affecting the lives of people in the area”...

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