Two people, including one Lao citizen, have been arrested in Houaphan Province for smuggling heroin from Laos to Vietnam.
Vietnamese police arrested Lo Van Dung, a Vietnamese national, last Friday in the Vietnam-Laos border province for transporting 9.9 kilograms of heroin from the Lao province to the central Vietnam province of Thanh Hoa, VnExpress reported.
As a part of the investigation, the police also tracked down a Lao citizen Thao Dia Tho the next day possessing 660 grams of heroin.
The Lao authorities will handle the seized drugs.
“Vietnam is a key trafficking hub for drugs from the Golden Triangle, an intersection of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, which is the world’s second-largest drug-producing area after the Golden Crescent in South Asia,” VnExpress explained.
Laos has beefed up its efforts to tackle illegal drug trade in recent years.
In June 2017, marking the 30th anniversary of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith stressed that the illegal activities must be suppressed and outlined several measures to tackle the issue.
In particular, the PM explicitly informed all party committees and authorities at all levels and sectors to consider drug prevention, control and solution efforts as their obligation and duty.
