Arrested on Drug Smuggling Charges
Found in Toothpaste Tube in Luggage
Drugs were found packed inside toothpaste tubes. Four flight attendants of the Vietnamese state-owned airline were arrested locally on charges of drug smuggling.
On the 18th (local time), VN Express reported that the Ho Chi Minh police arrested four female flight attendants, including Nguyen Thanh Thu (37), who boarded Vietnam Airlines flight VN10 from Paris arriving at Tan Son Nhat International Airport the previous morning.
They are suspected of smuggling drugs by hiding them inside toothpaste tubes included in their luggage. The drugs contained are reported to total 10 kg, including ecstasy and other synthetic substances.
The flight attendants, detained by the police, stated during the investigation, "At Paris airport, an unidentified person asked us to transport a package to Hanoi and paid us 10 million dong (about 550,000 KRW) for it, so we agreed without much thought."
It is known that the flight attendants said the package passed through French customs without any issues. They also reportedly said they only realized what they were actually carrying upon arrival in Vietnam.
The media reported that the Ho Chi Minh City Drug Police have confiscated all the items and are investigating whether the flight attendants were directly involved in drug smuggling.
Vietnam is one of the countries that strongly crack down on drug crimes. If caught smuggling drugs into Vietnam, a prison sentence of more than two years is imposed. Possession or smuggling of more than 600g of heroin or 2.5kg of methamphetamine (philopon) can result in the death penalty. Producing or selling more than 100g of heroin or 300g of other illegal drugs can also lead to the death penalty.
Meanwhile, for several years, Vietnam has rapidly emerged as a hub for drug trafficking. Drugs gathered in Vietnam come from the 'Golden Triangle' (border area of Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar), one of the world's largest opium-producing regions, traveling along east-west and north-south economic corridors, and then flow onward to China, Taiwan, the Philippines, and other places. Vietnamese authorities have estimated that drugs collected here are further trafficked to Northeast Asian countries such as Korea and Japan, as well as North America including Canada and the United States, and Oceania including Australia and New Zealand.
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