The People's Court of Thanh Hoa Province in central...

The People's Court of Thanh Hoa Province in central Vietnam handed down 12 death penalty verdicts and seven life sentences to 19 of 24 defendants charged with drug trafficking. The defendants, aged between 26 and 56, including five members of minority groups, were from northern provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, Lai Chau, Hoa Binh, Hai Duong and Hai Phong. The ten-day trial gathered sufficient evidence to conclude that the 21 defendants had transported and trafficked in 71.5 bars of heroin [25.025 kg], 4.7 kg of opium, and 80 methamphetamine pills.