Drug rehabilitation trainees broke through the center's gate and escaped into the mangrove forest.

Approximately 110 students unexpectedly stopped in front of the room door, refusing to go inside and simultaneously shouting demands to be "let go home for Tet," before starting a chaotic disturbance...

Illustrative image.

At noon on January 30th (the third day of the Lunar New Year), Mr. Le Tan Dung, Vice Chairman of the Long An Provincial People's Committee, confirmed that by noon on January 30th, security forces at the Long An Provincial Social Labor Education and Treatment Center, the Mobile Police, and the Thanh Hoa District Police (Long An) had brought 72 drug rehabilitation trainees back to the center. Previously, 110 trainees at the center had vandalized property, broken down the center's gate, and escaped.

"The trainees are currently hiding deep in the melaleuca forests of Tan Tay, Tan Dong, and Thanh An communes. Authorities are facing significant difficulties due to the center's location, which is surrounded entirely by melaleuca forests and waterways," Mr. Dung stated.

According to a preliminary report from the Long An Provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, at approximately 5 PM on January 29th (the second day of Tet), drug rehabilitation trainees at the Social Labor Education and Treatment Center (under the Long An Provincial Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs), located in Tan Tay commune (Thanh Hoa district, Long An province), after finishing their meal, unexpectedly stopped in front of their rooms and refused to go inside. They then simultaneously shouted, demanding to be "let go home for Tet," and subsequently began causing a disturbance.

The trainees then continued to spread out throughout the center, smashing whatever they could find, before breaking down the center's doors and splitting into groups to run straight into the mangrove forest.

Authorities had to block off several roads, set up checkpoints on routes leading into residential areas, and then repeatedly urged the trainees to voluntarily return to the center.

According to initial information, more than 30 trainees have gone deep into the vast mangrove forest spanning hundreds of hectares, making it difficult to persuade them to return to the camp.

The Long An Social Labor Education and Treatment Center covers an area of ​​8 hectares, surrounded by a melaleuca forest of over 500 hectares, located about 1 km from National Highway 62, and currently houses 160 trainees undergoing compulsory treatment.

According to Thanh Nien newspaper