The "largest drug ring in history" was discovered from the case of 4 flight attendants

On January 19, Major General Mai Hoang, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Police, announced the above information at a conference on preventing drugs via air routes organized by the Hanoi Customs Department.

The case was discovered on March 16, 2023, when customs officers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport found many strange tubes of toothpaste in the luggage of 4 Vietnam Airlines flight attendants on flight VN10 from France. "Without the need to use screening equipment, with sharp skills and responsibility, customs officers checked," said Mr. Mai Hoang.

Authorities found more than 8 kg of ecstasy and more than 3 kg of cocaine and ketamine (the most expensive drug) in the suitcase. The four flight attendants admitted to transporting the cream tubes for 10 million VND and did not know there were drugs inside.

Mr. Mai Hoang said that at that time, he asked these people "did they know that there were drugs inside, and how subjective their consciousness was". After analyzing their daily work, the police determined that the four flight attendants often took advantage of the "overweight suitcase" to transport goods to Vietnam for hire. In that shipment, the person who was paid the most was 2.6 million VND.

"Putting humanity first and with the motto of not wrongly accusing innocent people, we decided to release the four flight attendants, despite much pressure," said the Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Police.

From this case, Ho Chi Minh City Police established a special investigation team and on the first day arrested 36 suspects and found the ringleaders in Yen Thanh District, Nghe An. This group was determined to have successfully transferred 6 cases from abroad to Noi Bai Airport, then transferred them to Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces for consumption. The 7th shipment, which was also the first shipment to Tan Son Nhat, they hired four flight attendants to "carry" it back.

After 10 months of investigation, Ho Chi Minh City Police have dismantled 150 drug rings involving many provinces and cities related to this group. 381 people were prosecuted, and 130 kg of drugs were seized. Police said they were able to prove 3,000 accounts showing that these groups had transacted 22,000 billion VND.

"This will be the largest drug ring in the history of our country, so imagine what the consequences will be if we cannot destroy it. We expect there to be 500 defendants in this case," said Major General Mai Hoang.

To achieve the above results, according to Mr. Hoang, there was coordination between customs and police. The four flight attendants assisted the police a lot because they were "clean and professional".

In 2023, the amount of drugs seized in Ho Chi Minh City increased dramatically, up 73% compared to the previous year. When fighting drug cases, with a new approach, Ho Chi Minh City Police mobilized the entire Anti-Robbery Team of the Criminal Police Department to participate in the investigation.

According to the Hanoi Customs Department, from 2021 to now, the situation of buying, selling and transporting drugs by air has become very complicated. Criminals take advantage of the policy of reforming and modernizing the inspection of goods to transport prohibited goods from abroad to Vietnam.

In 2021-2023, Hanoi Customs Department detected 138 cases, coordinated to arrest 93 suspects; seized more than 1,700 kg of drugs.