"Living in misery" in the drug capital
(Baonghean.vn) - In the vortex of the "white death" storm and its consequences, a small village has more than 20 people in prison for drugs, leaving behind abandoned houses and homeless, destitute children.
The "capital" is desolate.
In the late afternoon, we followed the only road from the commune center to Dua village, Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong), a residential area of Thai people. In the distance is Pu Lom mountain, where drug trafficking groups once wreaked havoc. The mountain looks normal but is a prime location for drug crimes in Western Nghe An. On the other side is Muong Long commune (Ky Son). Since the 1990s, the trails through Pu Lom have become a route for transporting opium and heroin from Laos through Ky Son district deep into Vietnam and people have called this place the "drug capital" of Western Nghe An.
Until 2017 and 2018, when many drug trafficking hotspots in Luong Minh and Tuong Duong districts were destroyed, people still told each other that in Pu Lom mountain not far away, this community of 83 households still had drug trafficking groups always ready with hot weapons to fight against the police force at any time. Recently, their activities have become less active but have not completely stopped.
