VietNamNet Bridge – Police here have busted a major inter-provincial drug-trafficking ring that has been under investigation since November last year.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hoang Thang, head of HCM City's Police Department's Drug Combating Division, said on Saturday that over 20 people were involved in the case. Police seized a substantial amount of material evidence.

Thang said police arrested Nguyen Hoang Tuan, 37, and his wife Nguyen Thi Thanh Hien, 29, the owners of a house on Nguyen Duy Street in District 8's Ward 12.

On October 30, Tuan was arrested at HCM City's Eastern Bus Terminal, where he was en route to take the drugs to the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

The next day, police detained his wife Hien, who was waiting to pick up Tuan at the Kon Tum Bus Station.

Police found them after a search for the couple in the southern provinces of Long An, An Giang, Tien Giang and Tra Vinh.

Prior to their involvement, 19 other people were involved in the drug ring, all of whom have been arrested. Eight of them, who are relatives of Hien, were arrested in HCM City.

The couple also used elderly people and children for drug trafficking-related jobs, including safeguarding houses and areas and warning about the appearance of drug-combating forces.

Thang said both Tuan and Hien had a record of previous convictions and offences, including robbery, public disorder and theft.

"One of the major positive results of this arrest has been the turning of Alley No. 690 of Nguyen Duy Street in District 8's Ward 12 into a drug-safe area," Thang said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News