The case of Bi Vang being arrested for carrying 20,000 drug pills from Laos to Nghe An with a midday ambush

In late March 2019, in the border forests bordering Laos, in Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong district, the weather was sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny. However, for a notorious drug trafficker like Bi Vang, this was a favorable opportunity for him to transport a large quantity of drugs from across the border to Vietnam.

But Bi Vang did not expect that Nghe An border guards had been monitoring his movements for a long time and were still persistently lying in wait, regardless of weather conditions, to stop his illegal actions.

Subject Bi Vang. Photo: Hai Thuong

Bi Vang, born in 1992, Mong ethnic group, residing in Phon Muong Noi village, Kham Cot district, Bolikhamxay province (Laos). The subject's residence is convenient for transactions in the Golden Triangle area, known as a major drug transit area in Southeast Asia.

From a small business, with a lazy nature and a desire to make quick money, after a while, Bi Vang became an important link in the drug trafficking chain from Laos to Vietnam for consumption. During the festivals of the people on both sides of the border, Bi Vang tried every way to connect with drug dealers on the Vietnamese side to bring drugs back to our country to sell for profit.

The subject's actions were discovered and monitored by the Nghe An Border Guard. However, as a young, strong man, Bi Vang was very knowledgeable about the terrain, roads, and paths on both sides of the Vietnam - Laos border, so the authorities encountered many difficulties in the process of fighting the subject.

Determined not to let Bi Vang continue to spread white death, at the end of January 2019, Nghe An Border Guard established Project 377L with the determination to fight and arrest this core subject.

The project was established, and good detectives from the Anti-Terrorism Department (Nghe An Border Guard) and Thanh Thuy Border Guard Station were mobilized to participate. From that point on, all activities of Bi Vang were closely monitored by the detectives, with the aim of thoroughly understanding the methods and weaknesses of the subject in order to have a suitable plan of action.

After a period of monitoring, the detectives reported to the Command of Project 377L: “The subject showed that he did not trust his accomplices. For large business deals, Bi Vang often personally transported the goods for transactions. Instead of small transactions, Bi Vang decided to transport a large amount of goods to create long-term business trust with Vietnamese partners. At the beginning of March, he had prepared to store a large amount of goods and was likely to transport them to our country to hand over to his business “partners”.

Evidence of the case. Photo: Hai Thuong

On March 21, 2019, upon receiving important information from the scouts, the Command of Project 377L determined that the opportunity to arrest the subject was very close. Immediately, the task force was ordered to organize an ambush on the border trails where the task force commander determined that the subject would bring goods across the border into our country. Despite the weather conditions, the hot sun, the task force persisted in ambushing for a long time.

By noon on March 22, 2019, realizing that the opportunity to transport goods into Nghe An had come, Bi Vang brought the goods to trade with the partner as scheduled. While on the way to trade, at km 63 of National Highway 46 in Hamlet 3, Thanh Thuy Commune, Thanh Chuong District, Nghe An Province, Bi Vang was ambushed and arrested by the Drug and Crime Prevention Department of Nghe An Border Guard in coordination with Thanh Thuy Border Gate Border Post at 12:05 p.m. with evidence of 20,000 synthetic drug pills.

“When we saw Bi Vang appear in the ambush, the scouts approached and knocked him down. Although he fought back fiercely, with his battle prowess and martial arts skills, our scouts did not give him a chance to escape.” – Lieutenant Colonel Le Tham Muu, Deputy Head of the PCTPMT Department (Nghe An Border Guard) said.

Project 377 L ended successfully, ensuring absolute safety in all aspects. The case file has been completed and handed over to the authorities for handling.