VIETNAM: COURT SENTENCES 9 PEOPLE TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

A court in Vietnam on January 22, 2024 sentenced nine people to death after being convicted of involvement in one of the country's largest drug trafficking cases in months, state media reported.
At the end of a three-day trial, a court in central Nghe An province sentenced ringleader Tran Thi Mau, 56, and eight accomplices to death.
Two others in the same drug trafficking ring were given life sentences, VNExpress newsite reported.
They were found guilty of trafficking 105 kg (231.49 lb) of methamphetamine and heroine from Laos to Vietnam from 2021 until early 2022 when the ring was busted, online newspaper VnExpress reported. Reuters could not immediately reach their lawyers for comment.
Vietnam has among the world's toughest narcotics laws, where anyone found guilty of trafficking 100 grams or more of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, or amphetamine face the death penalty.
Drug trafficking remains widespread, however, with 41,400 suspects arrested in 26,469 cases last year, up from 36,000 traffickers and 24,000 cases in 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Public Security.