Police in Hanoi have arrested and filed formal charges against a Vietnamese man who was caught hiding synthetic drugs, which he said he had been hired to carry for US$1,870, around his abdomen, Vietnamese media reported.
>> Vietnam police hold two for carrying bag containing drugs
After days of investigation, police in the capital put Vu Ngoc Hoa, 61, a local resident, in official detention on Monday on charges of illegally transporting drugs pursuant to Article 194 of the Penal Code, newswire VnExpress reported.
On February 9, police caught Hoa red-handed stashing four bags of methamphetamine, a kind of synthetic drug, around his belly when he arrived at the Luong Yen Bus Station in Ba Dinh District.
He had come from Mong Cai Town in the northern province of Quang Ninh, police said.
The total weight of the drugs is about 2 kilograms, according to police.
Hoa told police that he had arrived in Mong Cai a day earlier to purchase garments and footwear and bring them back to Hanoi for sale.
When he was at a café in the town, an unknown man approached him and then had him carry the bags of drugs to Hanoi for VND40 million ($1,870).
Hoa admitted to police that he had agreed to the deal and let the stranger fix three drug bags to his belly and another to his lower abdomen with tape.
Police are further investigating the case.
Under Article 194 of the Vietnamese Penal Code, twenty years of imprisonment, life imprisonment or capital punishment can be given to those who are convicted of illegally stockpiling, transporting, trading in or appropriating heroin or cocaine weighing one hundred grams or more.
The same penalties are also given to those who commit the crimes in one of the following circumstances: opium resin, marijuana resin or coca plasma weighing five kilograms or more; marijuana leaves, flowers, fruit or coca leaves weighing 75 kilograms or more; dried poppy fruit weighing 600 kilograms or more; fresh poppy fruit weighing 150 kilograms or more; other narcotic substances in solid form weighing 300 grams or more or in liquid form measuring 750 milliliters or more.
Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Đăng ký: VietNam News