'Cutting off' the drug trafficking ring of 120kg of marijuana and 3kg of crystal meth to Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - After more than 3 months of sleeping in the forest and on the ground, the drug trafficking ring of 120kg of marijuana, 3kg of crystal meth, 2000 pink pills from Laos to Nghe An and then to the northern provinces for consumption has been "cut off". This is the drug case that has seized the largest amount of marijuana ever by the Nghe An provincial police force.

At 11:40 a.m. on August 16, on the Ho Chi Minh trail, through Thanh Xuan commune (Thanh Chuong), the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (PC47) presided over and coordinated with Thanh Chuong police, Traffic Police Team 1-46 to arrest Le Duc Giang (born 1993) and Le Van Tu (born 1994), both residing in Do Thanh commune, Yen Thanh, while illegally transporting 120 kg of marijuana, 3 kg of crystal meth, and 2,000 synthetic drug pills.

Following the hot trail, the police force continued to urgently arrest Pham Quang Tien (1992) and Cao Tuan Tu (born 1995), both residing in Dien Chau district.

The subjects and evidence were arrested. Photo provided by the police.

Go to Laos to set up a drug trafficking ring

Since the end of April 2017, through reconnaissance work, officers and soldiers of the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department of the Provincial Police discovered a drug trafficking ring from Laos, through the area near Cau Treo border gate (Ha Tinh) to Nghe An. After gathering the goods, the subjects continued to transport them to the northern provinces for consumption.

After the monitoring process, the detectives discovered that this ring was led by two subjects, Le Duc Giang (born in 1993, residing in Do Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district) and Pham Quang Tien (born in 1992, residing in Dien Phuc commune, Dien Chau).

Verifying the identities of these two subjects, it is known that both Giang and Tien often go to Laos to do business. Every time they return to Vietnam, they both move quite discreetly, especially no one knows what Giang and Tien do for work in Laos. However, in the past time, Tien has shown many signs of financial uncertainty, from his generous spending habits to drug parties for his friends.

After the investigation, the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department has mapped out the route of the "goods" that Giang and Tien masterminded. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain and acquaintances with many drug addicts in Laos, Giang and Dat organized the collection of marijuana, crystal meth, and opium. After having enough goods, the two packed them into bags, sealed them, and hired Lao people to cut through the forest, following small-scale routes to transport them into the interior of Vietnam near the Cau Treo border gate (Ha Tinh).

To deceive the authorities, Giang and Tien often returned from Laos empty-handed. Then, they went to the store to rent two self-driving cars, one of which was used as a lookout and a scout. When they saw no one was following them, they would drive to Cau Treo border gate to get the goods. Then they would bring them to Nghe An and then continue to the northern provinces for consumption.

For more support, the two called Le Van Tu (born in 1994, residing in Do Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district) and Cao Tuan Tu (born in 1985, residing in Dien Hoa commune, Dien Chau). Tu was a subject with a 2-year prison sentence for illegal possession and transportation of drugs. Tu used to be a taxi driver, but now has no stable job, so he often follows Tien to "sell" goods to get a share of the commission.

Determined to cut off this huge drug ring, the Drug Investigation Police Department established Project 817S. The task force determined that Giang and Tien were important links in the drug ring from Laos to Vietnam. These subjects all had hometowns in Nghe An and frequently traveled back and forth to Laos. Therefore, this ring must be destroyed soon to stop the illegal drug supply.

Authorities determine the weight of the evidence. Photo provided by the police.

Seized a huge amount of marijuana

With great determination, the scouts were ordered to follow closely every movement of the subject. With their cunning nature, Giang and Tien operated without any fixed rules or time. “There were times when the scouts had to stay for many days in the deep forest, cross to Laos, and follow the subject’s vehicle on roads with cliffs on one side and deep abysses on the other. Many times, the subject even went home at night, so tracking and following the subject was very difficult and arduous,” said a scout.

On August 15, the detectives reported that the next day, Giang and Tien's group would "take" a large shipment to Nghe An. Realizing the opportunity was ripe, the Task Force decided to "take action". However, because Giang and Tien were very cunning, the arrest of the subjects had to be carefully calculated, lest "the rope broke and the whole forest was shaken". Because just a small mistake would cause the subject to stop trading and the months of monitoring the subject would be "in vain".

At around 10:00 a.m. on August 16, on Highway 8, about 2km from Cau Treo border gate, an Innova car with license plate 37A -

02757 was running when it suddenly stopped. A man wearing sunglasses and a hat got out of the car, raised his hand and clapped it twice. Suddenly, from under the slope, 6 men came out, carrying a snake skin on their backs and quickly put it in the car trunk that was already opened. The incident only lasted for 3 minutes, the car continued to speed towards Thanh Chuong. As for the other men, they disappeared into the bushes.

They thought everything was going smoothly, but the subjects did not expect that all their actions could not be hidden from the detectives. At about 11:30, when the Fortuner car was speeding on the Ho Chi Minh trail, passing through Thanh Xuan commune, Thanh Chuong district, they saw a traffic police team signaling to stop the car. The people in the car did not understand what was happening when the police rushed out to arrest them. Because they were too surprised and panicked, the subjects tried to turn the car around and run away but were controlled by the police.

At that time, Le Duc Giang and Le Van Tu were in the car with two other suspects. Searching the car, the investigation team discovered 6 green snake skin bags in the trunk, containing dried marijuana; 1 black plastic bag containing 3 bricks of crystal meth and 10 green polythene bags containing 2,000 synthetic drug pills.

After investigating the scene, the task force continued to chase and arrest the car with license plate 37A - 194.39. This car was driven by Cao Tuan Tu, with Pham Quang Tien beside him. Notably, there was a woman and a child in the car. Later, the police identified them as Giang's wife and child. Giang and Tien confessed that they took their wife, children, and friends in the car to distract the police. However, all of their sophisticated tricks were exposed by the police.

Nguyen Hung