
Son La (VNA) –Police in the northwestern border province of Son La have managed to tackle drugtrafficking hot spots in Ta De and Lung Xa hamlets in Long Luong commune, VanHo district, and eliminated several extremely dangerous criminals.
At a press conferencein Son La on July 3 on the results of two campaigns coded 18TN and 19TN, SeniorLieutenant Colonel Tran Thanh Son of the Son La Public Security Department,said that Long Luong is home to 30 wanted criminals, 134 drug addicts, 28 drug-relatedsuspects, 72 inmates in re-education camps, and 65 former prisoners.
A great number ofplans and programmes on comprehensive investment have been implemented to boostsocio-economic development of the district, including one by the provincialpolice to turn Long Luong from a drug trafficking hub into a drug-freelocality.
Over three years,local police arrested 25 suspects, seized 498 cakes of heroin, 35,059 tabletsof meth, 21 guns, and 333 bullets, announced Son.
However, whileprogress was seen in raiding the drug trafficking activities of armed andcross-border criminals, local police faced fierce resistance from traffickersand wanted criminals who teamed up with their accomplices in other localitiesin order to continue drug-related crimes. Notably, Nguyen Thanh Tuan, born in1983 in Hanoi, and Nguyen Van Thuan, born in 1984 in Ha Nam, were two extremelydangerous criminals who hid in Lung Xa and Ta De hamlets to avoid the police, forminga new drug ring using firearms and explosives.
In a raid from June27-30, the police eliminated Tuan and Thuan, arrested three others, and seized49 guns, 17 grenades, and more than 7,000 bullets.
On July 2, theInvestigation Police of Son La started legal proceedings for the charges of illegallystoring military weapons and equipment, and resisting on-duty authorities in TaDe hamlet of Long Luong commune, Van Ho district.
Meanwhile, ColonelPhung Tien Trien, Vice Director of the Son La Public Security Department, saidthat in the future, the police will continue coordinating with the local PartyCommittee and administration to stabilise the situation in Lung Xa and Ta De. The force will continue hunting for thewanted criminals in Long Luong, trying to persuade them to give themselves up,the officer said. -VNA