Seized over 5.5 metric tons of drugs
VIETNAM – Vietnamese border police and police in neighboring Laos have cracked down on the biggest drug trafficking cartel so far, led by a Thai national.
Police in the north-central province of Ha Tinh announced Saturday they had arrested 11 members of a Thai-led gang that allegedly smuggled 5.5 tons of drug precursors and dried marijuana to Southeast Asian countries and other countries in the world.
The Ha Tinh police worked with the police of a Laotian province bordering Vietnam in a joint operation started on June 18 to bust the gang.
The gang members were nabbed deep in a forest in Vietnam-Laos border at 4 p.m. last Thursday, they said.
Among those arrested was 47-year-old Thai man believed to be the ringleader, police also seized 3.5 tons of drug precursors and 2 tons of dried marijuana.
They said the gang disguised itself as a Laos-based coal export company to smuggle drugs from Thailand and Laos to Southeast Asian countries, France, Germany, Australia, further investigations are ongoing.