Vietnam should not become drug transit route: PM

Vietnam must avoid becoming one of the world’s major transit points for illegal drugs, according to a directive issued recently by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on behalf of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
Vietnam should not become drug transit route: PM ảnh 1Young people join a campaign on drugs prevention (Photo: baochinhphu.vn/)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Vietnam must avoid becomingone of the world’s major transit points for illegal drugs, according to adirective issued recently by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on behalf ofPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Law enforcement forces, ministries, State agencies andprovincial authorities have been urged to pull out all the stops to preventdrugs from being trafficked from foreign countries to Vietnam and within thecountry, smash drug rings and improve the investigation of drug-related crimes.

The Deputy PM also asked to eradicate illegal drug tradepoints and tighten loopholes that drug rings can use to commit crimes,especially at pubs, nightclubs and karaoke bars.

Deputy PM Dam asked that the law enforcement sectorcontinually updated its list of precursors, psychotropic substances andnarcotic drugs in line with three United Nations treaties that constitute theinternational law framework of global drug control: the Single Convention onNarcotic Drugs, 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol; the Convention onPsychotropic Substances, 1971, and the Convention Against Illicit Traffic inNarcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988.

The Government also urged for strengthening of internationalcooperation and ensuring effective implementation of international commitmentsregarding drug prevention and combat, and signing new treaties to better dealwith the issue.

Vietnam busted several drug rings, both international andinterprovincial, in the past two years. The country’s police and customs alsocollaborated with other ASEAN members to crack down on large-scale drug crimes.

Last week, Hanoi’s High-Level People’s Court upheld the deathsentence imposed on 47-year-old ringleader Pham Minh Tuan and eight othermembers of an inter-provincial drug smuggling ring at an appeal trial.

In March, 2019, the Philippines seized nearly 300kg ofmethamphetamine thanks to tip-offs from Vietnam.

These drugs had been transported from Myanmar, through Laosand Vietnam, under the name of a HCM City-based textile company, before beingcaptured in the Philippines./.
VNA

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