Vietnam Holds 65 For Smuggling Drugs In Toothpaste Tubes

Vietnam has arrested 65 people for smuggling 50kg of hard drugs into the country, with some of the stash arriving in toothpaste tubes.

The arrests were made in Ho Chi Minh City, a very common drug smuggling route with its convenient location near the border of Cambodia.

The incident follows the arrest of four cabin crew members of Vietnam Airlines last month who were caught carrying toothpaste tubes containing ecstasy, ketamine, and cocaine in their carry-on bags. They claimed they were hired to transport toothpaste, unaware of the illegal substances in the tubes.

Further investigation revealed that half of the toothpaste tubes carried by the flight attendants contained drugs and that the flight attendants were allegedly hired by the same smuggling ring that used the 65 suspects recently arrested.

The suspects are accused of buying, selling, transporting, and storing narcotics.

It is believed that Vietnamese nationals living in France are frequently used by the same drug syndicate to bring drugs into Vietnam. On arrival in Vietnam, the drugs are allegedly taken to Dong Nai province bordering Saigon for distribution to numerous locations.

Authorities have reported more incidents over the past three months than over the past five years combined.

Possession, smuggling or manufacture of drugs such as heroin or methamphetamine can mean the death penalty in Vietnam. Although, with the value of the illegal drugs trade, this is not always enough of a deterrent.

Although the flight attendants involved in the incident a few months earlier are currently out on bail, it will be a worrying wait for them to know their fate. From an outside perspective, whether innocent or unaware of what they were carrying, transporting anything on an airline to Vietnam for someone else is just not worth it.