Campaign against drug traffickers on the Vietnam-Cambodia border

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Drugs transported from Cambodia to Vietnam seized by Customs forces in coordination with authorities in An Giang border area, April 2019. Photo: T.H.

Establishing companies to buy and sell drugs

The above statement was made at a conference on the deployment of a drug campaign on the Vietnam-Cambodia border line jointly organized by the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam and the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom of Cambodia that took place on June 13 in Tay Ninh province.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, in recent years, on the Vietnam-Cambodia border, crimes including gambling and drug smuggling has been on the rise.

Local people seek to connect with foreigners living in Cambodia to form cross-border trafficking routes.

They take advantage of the convenient travel and trade between the two countries as well as difficulties and loopholes in inspection and control activities to illegally purchase and sell narcotics from the “Golden Triangle” region – Thailand to Cambodia and Laos to Vietnam – and then ship them to a third country.

In particular, there has been a tendency for suspects to illegally buy, sell and transport methamphetamine across the Vietnam - Cambodia border, then produce tablets for consumption across the country.

Notably, recently foreign suspects (mainly of Chinese and Taiwanese-Chinese origin) entered Vietnam on tourist or business visits, only to partner with domestic criminals to establish fake companies to buy, sell and illegally transport drugs.

According to the authorities, illegal drug trading and transport takes place mainly across the border areas of three provinces of Tay Ninh, An Giang, Kien Giang (Vietnam) and five provinces of Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng and Prey Veng, Takéo, Kampot (Cambodia).

According to the Ministry of Public Security, in the first six months of 2019, authorities discovered and handled more than 13,000 cases, arresting nearly 21,000 drug offenders and seizing nearly 6 tons of drugs of all kinds.

Peak campaign for 3 months

In the first months of 2019, functional forces continued to strengthen the fight against drug-related crimes on the Vietnam-Cambodia border, resulting in the busts of some big illegal drug trafficking lines.

From 2018 until now, directly related to the Vietnam - Cambodia border, functional forces have dealt with 17 cases, arrested 29 subjects and seized 39 bricks of heroin; 88.5kg and 190,447 tablets of synthetic drugs; and 4,241kg of marijuana.

Particularly, in the three provinces of Tay Ninh, An Giang and Kien Giang officers detected and handled 12 cases and 11 subjects; seized 9.85kg of marijuana; and 39kg and 38,288 synthetic drug tablets.

At the conference, in addition to assessing the results and shortcomings in the process of cooperation to prevent and combat drug-related crimes between the two countries, delegates discussed the direction and tasks to further improve the effectiveness of cooperation.

Among them is coordination in investigating drug cases across the border, verifying and busting drug lines, arresting criminals and drug traffickers. At the same time, conducting public control of key drug areas, such as roads, waterways, airports and ports in border areas to detect and arrest criminals.

Notably, in the immediate future, the functional forces of the two countries will start a campaign to suppress drug crimes on the Vietnam-Cambodia border (from 15 June to 15 September 2019).

In order to carry out the campaign, the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam assigned the Department of Drug Crime Investigation Police (C04) to work closely with the Border Guard Command, the General Department of Customs, and the five provincial police forces. In Cambodia these include: Kampong Cham, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Takéo and Kampot (adjacent to three provinces of Vietnam: Tay Ninh, An Giang and Kien Giang).

Accordingly, the functional forces of the two countries carried out uniform application of professional measures, firmly grasping the situation of drug-related crimes on the Cambodia-Vietnam border to promptly detect drug-related crimes and methods, tricks of criminal activities of the subjects, coordinating to deal with drug during the period.

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The two sides also noted strengthening the review, verification and arrest of drug-related criminals who are found hiding in each country and continuing to operate, linking and forming drug trading and transport lines; organizing communication activities, calling on people to actively participate in the movement "All people to protect national security and drug prevention."