Vietnam is a major transit hub of drug traficking in the region. Three Lao men have been sentenced to death for transporting drugs in Ha Tinh Province - PHOTO: VNA

HCMC - The People’s Court of Ha Tinh Province on August 16 handed out death penalties to three Lao men aged between 25 and 31 for transporting more than 50 kilograms of drugs in the province.

According to the verdict, on October 4, 2019, border guards of the province in collaboration with other forces caught Kieng Kham Ten Lu Hien driving a car carrying 45 kilograms of methamphetamine, six kilograms of synthetic drugs and 30 packs of heroin weighing around 350 grams each along National Highway 8A in Son Kim 1 Commune, Huong Son District.

Lu Hien said Xay Dang and Nenh Xong were his accomplices. After Hien’s testimony, less than an hour later, the task force caught Dang and Xong traveling in another car in Quang Diem Commune, Huong Son District.

The three men said they were hired by a Lao man to transport drugs from the Cau Treo International Border Gate in Huong Son District, Ha Tinh Province, to a business partner in the province for US$2,000 each.

Vietnam is a popular drug trafficking hub in the region. Drugs are transported from the Golden Triangle through Vietnam to Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and even Europe, Australia and Latin America.

According to the American Addiction Centers, Vietnam is among 20 countries with the harshest drug laws in the world.