Ha Tinh Customs and Police: Effective coordination in drug crime prevention

According to the assessment of Ha Tinh Customs Department, recently, on the Vietnam - Laos border through Cau Treo international border gate, the activities of criminals trading and transporting narcotics across the border have become complicated. complexity in an increasing trend in both the number of cases, the number of participants and the amount of drugs seized, forming organized, systematic, transnational lines and groups.

At the same time, the suspects took advantage of the rugged mountain roads, complex and extensive terrain, taking advantage of the openness during import and export procedures to carry out smuggling and illegal transportation drugs across the border. Drug criminals operate with increasingly sophisticated, aggressive, and reckless natures, methods, and tricks. They are equipped with many modern means of communication, operate irregularly, and are willing to use illegal drugs "hot" weapons to fight back when detected or captured.

Subject Nguyen Thanh Luan (seated) was arrested by Ha Tinh Customs and Police on May 2, 2023 while driving a motorbike to transport 32,000 ecstasy pills and 800 heroin pills. Photo: Dinh Thong

Facing with that situation, leaders of Ha Tinh Customs Department and Ha Tinh Police have regularly paid attention to and drastically directed the coordination between forces in fighting, preventing and combating drug crimes. Thereby, the combined force discovered and arrested many cases of drug transportation from Laos to Vietnam on a very large scale and quantity, using the trick of cutting forests and carrying along quota routes; renovate and reinforce positions in vehicles that frequently pass through the border gate; Collecting stamps, disguising goods and checked baggage to find opportunities to transport them through Vietnam to a third country...

The coordination, solidarity, and mutual support of Ha Tinh Customs and Police forces in building and implementing professional plans, establishing a joint project to coordinate the fight against drug-related crimes on all levels, key areas... have brought many positive results.

Statistics show that from 2022 to April 30, 2024, the two forces have coordinated and successfully solved 19 cases, arrested 23 subjects with evidence of nearly 600kg of all kinds of drugs.

Specifically, in 2022, the two forces successfully solved 10 cases, arrested 12 suspects, and confiscated evidence including 49,945 heroin tablets (amphetamine), estimated at 4,763 kg; 6,780 kg of synthetic drugs (methamphetamine); 18 kg of ketamine; 268.9 grams of heroin.

In 2023, the two forces successfully solved 6 cases, arrested 8 subjects, and confiscated evidence including 93 heroin pills, 550 kg of ketamine, 26,409 kg of crystal meth, 17 grams of heroin. In the first four months of 2024, the two units successfully coordinated to solve 3 cases, arrest 3 suspects, and confiscated evidence including 58.48 grams of heroin and 213.25 grams of methamphetamine.

Typically, on September 24, 2023, at Ha Tinh Bus Station in Bac Thuong village, Thach Dai commune, Thach Ha district, Ha Tinh province, the Police Investigation Agency (Ministry of Public Security) presided over and coordinated with PC04 Department (Ha Tinh Police), Cau Treo International Border Gate Customs Branch (Ha Tinh Customs Department), Cau Treo International Border Gate Border Guard Station, Drug and Crime Prevention Department (Ha Tinh Border Guard ) conducted an inspection, discovered and arrested a subject on a passenger car carrying Lao inspection license number 5678. Through the inspection, the forces obtained 22 yellow sacks containing a white powder inside, which is a drug of the type ketamine, mass 550 kg.

Most recently, on May 3, 2024, at Km85 in Ha Trai village, Son Kim 1 commune, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province, Cau Treo International Border Gate Customs Branch (Ha Tinh Customs Department) , Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (Ha Tinh Police), Cau Treo International Border Gate Border Guard Station, Drug and Crime Prevention Department (Ha Tinh Border Guard) coordinated to conduct an inspection investigated and arrested 2 suspects, confiscating 68 pink tablets of methamphetamine and 1,958 pink tablets of methamphetamine.

Although many results have been achieved, however, the coordination mechanism for information exchange, handling of cases and related evidence seized... between the Customs and the Police still has many limitations.

In the coming time, the two forces will proactively develop plans and solutions to fight large drug projects, involving many subjects and many areas.

Accordingly, the two sides will synchronously deploy professional measures to control, monitor and exchange information, forecast the situation, and firmly grasp the subjects, routes, areas, methods and tricks of operations of criminals in order to promptly organize an effective fight against those who illegally transport drugs across the border.

At the same time, strengthen coordination in propaganda and mobilization of the masses, especially in border communes about the methods, tricks, consequences, and harmful effects of drugs on social life; mobilize the public to participate in preventing, detecting and denouncing drug crimes; explaining widely to businesses when participating in the business, import and export of precursors and addictive drugs to raise awareness in the business community about the risks and harmful effects of precursors if not used for the right purpose...