Vietnam court sentences 11 to death in major drug trafficking case
The case originated from the March 2023 discovery of more than 10 kilograms of drugs, including over 8.3 kilograms of MDMA and nearly 3 kilograms of ketamine, concealed in 157 toothpaste tubes
A Vietnamese court sentenced 11 people to death Thursday in one of the country's largest drug trafficking cases, known as VN10, which involved 227 defendants and stemmed from a 2023 discovery of narcotics hidden in toothpaste tubes carried by flight attendants.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court handed down the death sentences after more than a week of hearings, according to state media outlet VnExpress. At least 20 other defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, with the remaining defendants receiving sentences ranging from 18 months in prison to life.
The case originated from the March 2023 discovery of more than 10 kilograms (22lbs) of drugs, including over 8.3 kilograms (18lbs) of MDMA and nearly 3 kilograms (6.6lbs) of ketamine, concealed in 157 toothpaste tubes carried by four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants arriving from Paris at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat airport. Authorities later determined the women had unknowingly transported the drugs.
The investigation subsequently uncovered a broader transnational trafficking network smuggling narcotics disguised as consumer goods, including coffee, chocolate and shampoo, from France and Cambodia into Vietnam.
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Prosecutors identified Hà Danh Nậm, 52, as an alleged organizer of the network who arranged for drugs to be transported from France by couriers carrying luggage or through express delivery services. Other defendants were accused of major trafficking crimes like obtaining roughly 118,600 MDMA tablets through a Telegram contact and distributing them to buyers, or using Telegram and Signal to coordinate the distribution of more than 11.2 kilograms (24lbs) of ketamine, 5.1 kilograms (11.2lbs) of MDMA and 17 kilograms (37lbs) of other drugs.
Prosecutors said members of the network used encrypted messaging platforms, bank accounts registered under other people's names and delivery services to distribute drugs across southern Vietnam, describing VN10 as an exceptionally serious case.
The verdicts come as Vietnam considers reforms to its use of capital punishment. Last month, the government proposed abolishing the death penalty for six offenses, including drug trafficking, as part of a broader revision to the criminal code.
Those proposed changes have not yet taken effect.