Life-or-death battles in the jungle

The line between life and death

Western Nghe An is a preferred transit, storage, and distribution point for drug traffickers due to several factors: it has a history of opium cultivation, serves as a drug smuggling route from Laos, and shares a 419 km land border with three Lao provinces: Hua Phan, Xieng Khouang, and Bolikhamsai.

Besides international border crossings, Vietnam and Laos also have many trails and unofficial border crossings. Taking advantage of the rugged mountainous terrain, the low level of education and limited legal awareness of the people in the border areas, and the frequent cross-border trade and visits to relatives, drug traffickers have secretly bought, sold, and transported large quantities of "white powder" (heroin) across the border into Nghe An province.

Western Nghe An border area. Photo: Google Maps

In the relentless war against those who "spread the white death," there have been confrontations, even life-or-death clashes, between law enforcement and drug criminals. Returning not long after successfully dismantling Case 918C in Tuong Duong district with his colleagues, Lieutenant Colonel Tran Dinh Vinh – Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Department for Drug Crimes of the Nghe An Provincial Police – still cannot forget the moment of the shootout with the extremely dangerous wanted fugitive Lo Van Thi.

Known as the "drug kingpin" in the area, Lo Van Thi, born in 1963, residing in Dua village, Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district, gathered under his command dozens of loyal henchmen—drug addicts ready to sacrifice themselves for him. This kingpin built many camps on high mountains, equipped with firearms—to organize drug trafficking and supply drugs to hundreds of addicts.

Under the direction of the Provincial Police leadership, officers and soldiers from the Drug Crime Investigation Department and the Tuong Duong District Police surrounded and launched an armed attack on the gang led by Thi. However, Thi and his accomplices fiercely resisted. It took many hours for the detectives to reach Thi's camp and arrest him.

Drug kingpin Luong Van Thi and seized evidence. Photo: Minh Tam

As for Lieutenant Nguyen Van Lam, an officer of the Criminal, Economic, and Narcotics Police Team of Tuong Duong District Police, although his years of service are relatively short, he has considerable experience in dealing with drug criminals. He has had to take post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) medication for HIV twice, been hit by a grenade once, and has had countless confrontations with drug traffickers involving knives and swords.

The case of Special 1216M, which involved arresting drug kingpin Luong Ba Duy (born in 1986), residing in Yen Na commune, Tuong Duong district, who was carrying firearms, is one example. During the arrest, Lieutenant Lam and his teammates were attacked by Duy and his lover, who scratched and bit them on the shoulder and tried to fire back. Faced with this dangerous situation, he and his teammates bravely overcame the difficulties, subdued Duy, disarmed him, and arrested him, dismantling a particularly dangerous drug trafficking ring led by him.

As a key area for drug trafficking, Que Phong is also a breeding ground for drug kingpins, so the fight against drug crime on this front line is equally fierce.

In August 2016, during the operation to dismantle a drug trafficking ring from Laos to Vietnam in Case 816H, when forces surrounded and apprehended suspects carrying 20 blocks of heroin who had infiltrated from the Lao border into the mountainous forest area of ​​Thong Thu commune, Que Phong district, one suspect suddenly appeared and fired an AK rifle directly at the arresting force. Lieutenant Le Van Tuan, an officer of the Criminal, Economic, and Drug Investigation Team of the Que Phong District Police, was hit by two bullets in the buttocks and left thigh.

In a critical situation, despite being injured, with a courageous spirit and unwavering determination to pursue the crime to the end, Comrade Tuan managed to hold onto one suspect until his colleagues arrived to apprehend him. However, by the time the case concluded, he had to fight for his life and spent months receiving treatment in the hospital.

Drug kingpin Luong Ba Duy and his underground tunnel through the mountain. Photo: Archival material.

Each battle provides the soldiers with invaluable lessons and helps them grow stronger. The biggest concern after each case is how to apprehend criminals while ensuring the absolute safety of the public and the members of the special task force.

Facing danger and enduring life-or-death battles, the soldiers on the front lines of the fight against drug crime have forged qualities of resilience, bravery, and strategic thinking, contributing to the overall victory in the long-term fight against crime.

Lieutenant Le Van Tuan, a police officer from Que Phong district, was injured in the life-or-death battle at Operation 816H, where they apprehended suspects carrying 20 blocks of heroin who had infiltrated Que Phong from the Lao border. Photo: Minh Tam

There's still a long way to go.

Drug traffickers are always reckless and dangerous. Hiding in towns and mountainous areas along the border, criminal gangs daily find ways to smuggle drugs into Vietnam via countless secret routes. For a long time, law enforcement agencies have organized raids and arrested hundreds of suspects, but as soon as a raid ends, drug trafficking activities surge even more. In particular, the buying, selling, transporting, and using of synthetic drugs continues to increase, and this type of drug is gradually replacing heroin, becoming the main drug used in the country.

In 2019 alone, the anti-drug forces of the Nghe An Provincial Police hadAuthorities arrested 1,189 cases and 1,453 individuals for drug-related crimes.thu67.6 kgheroin,765.6 kgdrugformstone,71.3 kg of MTTH, 1.8 kg of medicineopium(Compared to the same period in 2018, there was an increase of 135 cases and 169 individuals.amount of drugs seized,increased 6.1 times.

With a determination to gradually "cool down" drug hotspots, over the years, under the fierce attack of law enforcement agencies, currently, there are only about 10 major drug trafficking centers remaining in the border areas of Nghe An. The notorious ringleaders such as Sua, Bi Vang, Nhia Y Vang (Lao nationals), Lau Giong Long and his wife Ho Y Co (residing in Huoi Thang village, Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district); Va Pa Co (residing in Bac Ly commune, Ky Son district), Va Ba Po (residing in Muong Long commune, Ky Son district)... have been successively eliminated and arrested.

The suspects Bi Vàng; the couple Lầu Giống Lồng and Hờ Y Cở, and the seized evidence. Photo: Archival material.

Recognizing that Nghe An province is very close to the "Golden Triangle" - a major drug trafficking hub - and given the complex drug situation in the area, the practical work of combating drug crimes along the border in recent years has involved foreign elements and concerns national border sovereignty. Therefore, the process of combating and preventing drug trafficking requires coordination between forces on both sides of the border.

Therefore, the authorities in Nghe An have implemented many comprehensive and decisive solutions to prevent and combat drug trafficking, striving and determined to "block supply and reduce demand" right along the border. In particular, they have focused on the cooperative relationship in drug prevention and control between their forces and those of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Statistics from the Border Liaison Office for Drug Control (BLO) located in Que Phong district, Nghe An province (Vietnam) and Sam To district, Hua Phan province (Laos) show that from 2013 to 2019, drug control forces of the two countries coordinated information exchange and organized armed raids against 5 groups of individuals (including foreigners) carrying firearms and involved in the illegal trafficking of narcotics in the border area.

Authorities dismantled 8 drug trafficking hotspots and 37 complex drug-related locations; detected and arrested over 800 cases and more than 1,000 drug offenders, seizing over 90 kg of various types of drugs and numerous weapons, dangerous tools, and other valuable assets. The two sides also coordinated in providing and exchanging information, successfully solving 20 major cases and arresting 11 particularly dangerous drug fugitives who had been hiding in Laos for many years.

Nghe An police launched an operation to dismantle drug trafficking hotspots along the Vietnam-Laos border in April 2019. Photo: Minh Tam

Despite detecting and arresting many major drug cases, including some involving unprecedented quantities of drugs and handling hundreds of kilograms of various types of narcotics, the supply of drugs from abroad has not been stopped. Furthermore, with the changing and shifting nature of drug crimes, the criminal landscape will become even more complex.

Given the ongoing threat, in the coming period, law enforcement agencies at all levels in Nghe An province need to implement more measures to detect, combat, and strengthen their efforts in this type of crime.