Around 600 drug addicts escaped from a rehabilitation centrein Dong Nai Province’s Xuan Loc District late last night, and caused havoc onand around National Highway 1, blocking traffic, rioting and looting.

Authorities in Dong Nai return the escapees to drug rehab centre.

Though officers arrived at the centre quickly after beinginformed about the breakout and fired shots in the air, many of the inmatesmanaged to get away and headed for the highway.

By then they had damaged vehicles on the streets and engagedin robbery, causing extreme apprehension among local residents.

Loan Nguyen wrote on her Facebook page she had been on herway from HCM City to Binh Thuan Province when some of the addicts stopped hercar and demanded money.

“The drug addicts, who had large, sinister tattoos, attackedour car violently and smashed it. We had a difficult time getting out of thechaos. It was so terrible that we cannot get over what happened.”

Provincial and local police, assisted by locals, managed tocapture more than 300 of the escapees as of 9am this morning.

According to the centre, hundreds of inmates broke out afterattacking the centre’s security guards with fire extinguishers and other hardobjects.

Since the escapees fled in all directions, the police haveset up check points in Xuan Loc, Long Khanh and other districts.

VNS