A court in Vietnam sentenced 27 people to death on Friday after finding them guilty of trafficking more than 600 kilos of narcotics including heroin, ketamine, and methamphetamine, state media reported.
The gang leader and notorious female crime boss Vu Hoang Anh, alias Oanh Ha, was among those condemned to death, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.
The 35-member ring smuggled 626 kilos (1,380 pounds) of drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam between March 2018 and November 2022, according to the court ruling.
The eight members not sentenced to die received jail terms ranging from 20 years to life following a four-day trial held in Ho Chi Minh City. The court categorized the case as involving a particularly serious cross-border drug trafficking operation spanning several years.
To evade detection, the suspects utilized social media platforms like Signal and adopted nicknames such as "Colombia" and "Mosscau". They operated under the veil of secrecy, communicating through messaging apps and phone numbers traced to the United States or Cambodia.
Oanh Ha, now 67, had previously received amnesty in 2009 after completing a 20-year prison sentence for prior drug trafficking charges. Since then, she has faced multiple imprisonments for various similar offenses.
The evidence presented during the trial revealed Oanh's significant role, leading the defendants to successfully transport and distribute 626 kilos of narcotics destined for consumption across major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Investigators identified the total financial stake involved as roughly $54.8 million. The indictment specified Oanh transferred up to $20,000 per trip to traffickers who were responsible for concealing drugs within vehicle engine blocks. Overall, 129 engine blocks were smuggled successfully from Cambodia.
Vietnam is notorious for having some of the strictest drug laws globally, and the secrecy surrounding its executions complicates public awareness of the legal proceedings. The timing of the executions remains unclear.
According to Amnesty International, Vietnamese courts routinely impose the death penalty for drug-related convictions, highlighting the country as one of the leading executioners worldwide.
Also fueling this harsh judicial response is Vietnam's proximity to the "Golden Triangle," where Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar converge, known for substantial narcotics production. Consequently, Ho Chi Minh City has developed as a burgeoning hub for drug traffickers due to improved transportation infrastructure.
Under Vietnamese law, anyone caught with more than 600 grams (21 ounces) of heroin or over 2.5 kilos of methamphetamine risks facing the death penalty.
A 2021 report by Amnesty International indicated partial disclosures from authorities showed hundreds continued to be sentenced to death annually. Many individuals face prolonged periods of detention before execution, with scarce details available about their judicial processes.
Since 2013, Vietnam has transitioned to executing death sentences primarily by lethal injection, moving away from executions by firing squad as part of its criminal justice reform.
