On the evening of January 18, a representative from the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (C04) under the Ministry of Public Security confirmed the incident. A video circulating on social media recently captured a local man offering illicit substances to Western visitors near the city’s historic streets.

Immediately after the footage surfaced, Major General Ngo Thanh Binh, Director of C04, ordered a task force to coordinate with Hanoi’s anti-narcotics police and local officers in Hoan Kiem Ward to investigate the matter.

Authorities later summoned H.Q.K., born in 1973 and currently working freelance, for questioning. At the police station, he admitted to being the man featured in the video.

K. explained that he used to work as a taxi driver and often interacted with international visitors in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Recently, noticing that some tourists were interested in using narcotics, he began frequenting the area with the intent of approaching foreign travelers. To build trust, he would use phrases like “weed coke MDMA,” and then lead them to massage parlors in exchange for referral commissions.

He insisted that he was neither directly involved in drug sales nor aware of where the drugs were being supplied.

According to police findings, K. has no prior criminal record or administrative violations. A rapid drug test also returned negative results.

Based on the evidence and the nature of the offense, authorities recommended that the Hoan Kiem Ward police fine K. USD 100 under Vietnam’s 2017 Tourism Law. Additionally, officials issued a warning to the owner of the implicated massage establishment, demanding immediate corrective measures to prevent similar violations that could harm public order and the city's tourism image.

Authorities also pledged to intensify patrols and surveillance in tourist-heavy areas, vowing to take strong action against anyone found soliciting, brokering, or promoting the use of illegal drugs.

Dinh Hieu