Thanh Hoa province has 11 of 27 districts in mountainous areas with nearly 1 million ethnic minorities living in 195 communes and towns, including five districts bordering with Lao, where sophisticated and artful drug traffickings usually take place.

In the first four months of 2015, the authorities discovered 198 cases, arrested 237 drug-related crimes, busted 6 gathering points retailing drugs and seized 8.02kg of heroin, 980g of ecstasy and 4.5g of opium resin, VND286 million and many other related exhibits.

So far, the province has 6,704 managed drug users, of them 6,119 living in community and 365 other detoxifying at the provincial Labour and Education Centre.

HIV/AIDS epidemic has appeared in all 27 districts, towns and city and 562 out 637 communes and wards in the province. So far, there have been 6,855 people infected with HIV, including 4,165 have become full blown AIDS./.

( Compiled by VNF )