9 sentenced to death in Vietnam for smuggling 91 kg of drugs from Cambodia

Nine people have been sentenced to death in Vietnam for their involvement in a major transnational drug trafficking operation that smuggled over 91 kilograms of narcotics from Cambodia into the country. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court handed down the verdicts on Saturday, with Tran Hoang Tin, 39, named as the ringleader of the highly organized network.

Tin, along with La Gia Cuong, 55, and seven other individuals, received the death penalty for drug trafficking, while Cuong also faced charges of illegal drug storage.

According to court findings, Tin managed the group’s cross-border operations, maintaining contact with suppliers and collaborators in both Vietnam and Cambodia. In October 2022, he bought 10 drug packages hidden in six air purifiers from Pham Thi Kim Phung in Cambodia, intending to resell them to a buyer named Cao Thien Phuoc. However, when Phuoc rejected the shipment due to poor quality, Tin switched suppliers and began sourcing drugs from Cuong, continuing to use household items like air purifiers and motorbikes to smuggle the substances.

The investigation later found that Tin also obtained narcotics from Nguyen Van Can to distribute throughout Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Thuan Province. Can was arrested on April 9, 2023, with more than 21 kilograms of drugs hidden in various vehicles. Additional searches of properties linked to the group uncovered another 30 kilograms of narcotics.

Authorities reported that between December 2022 and April 2023, the network trafficked over 91 kilograms of illegal drugs. Tin alone reportedly earned illicit profits of around VND1.3 billion (approximately US$49,958) during that period.