(Baonghean.vn) - Located far from the commune center, surrounded by high mountains and rugged terrain, drug criminals have long chosen Dua village (Luong Minh commune - Tuong Duong district) as their base of operations.
For a long time, Luong Minh commune has been known as a "hot spot" for drugs, with villages like Xop Mat, Minh Phuong, and the Pu Lom peak once causing widespread fear. When authorities intensified crackdowns, drug traffickers shifted their operations from Xop Mat and Minh Phuong to Dua village. Compared to the other two villages, Dua village's terrain is much more rugged, making it easier for drug criminals to operate and evade detection. Therefore, some call Dua village one of the "drug capitals" in western Nghe An province.
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| Bản Đửa has 84 households of the Thái ethnic group, located along the Mạt stream, surrounded by high and rugged mountain ranges. |
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| Many fig trees (or banyan trees) grow around the village, so the village is named after this type of tree. |
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| To reach Bản Đửa, one must cross the Xốp Mạt bridge over the Nậm Nơn river, then follow the single-lane road winding through the mountain slopes. |
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| And we had to cross the Mạt ravine many times. |
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| The high, rugged mountains in the region are the operating ground for drug traffickers. |
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| The reporter gathered information on the socio-economic situation and security and order through the local police and the management board of Dua village. |
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| In front of the village of Đửa lies the Pù Lôm peak, where drug traffickers often gather to exchange narcotics. The security situation has become complicated, with many villagers becoming involved in the transportation, buying, selling, storing, and use of drugs. |
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| In Bản Đửa, approximately 70% of families have men absent from home, due to serving prison sentences, dying from drug-related or HIV-related illnesses, or working far away. Therefore, the village's population is largely composed of women and children. |
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| In Bản Đửa, many individuals are serving sentences related to drug offenses, including families where both husband and wife are serving sentences. The owners of this house are among those serving sentences for drug trafficking. Their house is now locked up, and their children are being cared for by their grandparents. |
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| The socio-economic life in Bản Đửa village remains difficult, with the poverty rate still above 60%. The village's community cultural center is dilapidated, but there is no funding for upgrading or repairing it. |
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| Ban Dua village does not yet have access to the national power grid; the households there still have to rely on mini-hydroelectric power plants. |
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| Clean water sources are also scarce because the existing pipelines and water storage tanks are damaged and have not yet been repaired. |
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| Lacking adult supervision, children in Bản Đửa often play freely in the forests and along streams, making them vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous individuals. |
Cong Kien - Dang Cuong
