The Border Guard High Command of the northern mountainous province of Son La held a conference in Moc Chau on October 1 to review the implementation of the plan to combat drug-related crimes in border areas of Moc Chau and Van Ho districts.

Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh (Middle) and delegates at the event. (Photo: VNA)

The event drew Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, Commander of the Son La Border Guard High Command Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Hoang Van Chat, and representatives from the Police Department for Investigation of Drug-Related Crimes and other central and provincial departments and agencies.

Participants evaluated the results of the work over the six months since the plan 892/KH-BTL was issued on March 26, 2018 by the Border Guard High Command, while working to draw lessons from such experience.

Over the past few years, Son La, especially the districts of Moc Chau and Van Ho, has seen complicated developments in drug transportation to Vietnam due to tough terrain and coordination between local and Lao traffickers.

The drugs trafficked are mostly heroin transported from the Golden Triangle to Vietnam through Laos.

In the past six months, the provincial Border Guard High Command worked with their peers in the neighbouring province of Dien Bien and Lao police on 13 cases, arresting 34 suspects and seizing 169 bricks of heroin, 65kg of crystal meth, 422,000 tablets of meth, 17kg of opium, 18 guns, seven grenades, and seven automobiles.

Son La border guards coordinated with the Lao side to finish five cases in the Houaphan province of Laos, while cooperating with Dien Bien border guards to successfully deal with nine cases, arresting 11 suspects, 19 bricks of heroin, 15kg of crystal meth, 39,000 tablets of meth, 5kg of opium, 20 bullets, and many other exhibits.

The efficiency of combating drug-related crime has been enhanced, while the coordination between border guards and locals has become even stronger, greatly reducing activities of drug trafficking from the Golden Triangle to Houaphan and other bordering areas of Vietnam.

So far, activities by drug rings and armed criminal organisations have decreased by up to 80 percent, significantly reducing the quantity of drugs trafficked from Laos to Vietnam.

At the conference, Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presented gifts to the Tan Xuan border post of Van Ho and the Long Sap border post of Moc Chau.

Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien also presented certificates of merit to eight collectives with outstanding performance in combating armed drug traffickers along the border.

The Vietnam Fund for the Support of Children presented VND 200 million (USD 8,600) to poor children in Son La.

Earlier the same day, Acting President Thinh attended the inauguration of government headquarters in Tan Xuan of Moc Chau, and presented five houses and breeding cows to policy beneficiaries families, as well as 200 scholarships to poor children in Moc Chau and Van Ho./.

VNF/VNA