12 June 2023 :
The People's Court of the northwestern province of Son La handed out 10 death penalties and one life sentence to members of a drug trafficking ring during trials from June 1-5.
The 11 defendants, between 28 and 51 years old, were found guilty of trafficking 21 kg of drugs.
Investigation found that from June 2020 to January 16, 2021, the defendants illegally traded the drugs, including methamphetamine, amphetamine and ketamine, several times.
The operation was deemed "serious" as the gang members had traded drugs at the National Mental Hospital 1 in Hanoi.
Another member of the ring, Nguyen Xuan Quy, received death last August for storing, facilitating using and selling narcotics as he was found using drugs and organizing drug parties while staying at the hospital as a patient.
Under Vietnamese law, anyone found trafficking or possessing more than 600 grams of heroin faces the death penalty.