VietNamNet Bridge – A number of truck drivers and truck driver assistants in HCM City were found to have used drugs after local authorities of Truong Tho Ward and police of Thu Duc District conducted tests last weekend.

A number of truck drivers were found to have tested positive for drugs in HCM City. — Photo thanhnien.vn

According to Thanh Niên (Young People) newspaper, urine tests were conducted randomly on drivers passing through the gates of Phuc Long Port and Tan Cang Thu Duc depot on Saturday and Sunday.

Among 30 people tested on Sunday afternoon, three drivers and one assistant tested positive for methamphetamine.

Driver Nguyen Cong Thien, 28, from central Quang Tri Province and Le Ngoc Bao, 19, from central Khanh Hoa Province were among those who tested positive for synthetic drugs.

Thien, who has been on the road for ten years, confessed to police he had taken drugs one day earlier at a friend’s birthday party. He said he usually takes drugs.

Driver Nguyen Xuan Bac, 24, from Dak Nong Province said he was aware taking drugs while driving is illegal and dangerous to himself and others. However, he claimed to only take small amounts to stay awake.

On Saturday, two other drivers and one assistant had tested positive for synthetic drugs.

They were taken to Truong Tho Ward’s police office for further punishment. Two drivers were sent to a drug rehabilitation centre.

A Thanh Niên reporter contacted a representative of Thien An Company in District 7 after one of the company’s drivers tested positive for drugs. The representative, Hai, was surprised by the result and said the driver, Nguyen The Truyen, signed a contract with the company one month ago and had a health check that did not reveal any drugs.

The company will end the driver’s contract, Hai said.

Truong Tho Ward in Thu Duc District has a large number of ports that see a high volume of truck drivers pass through. The ward has pioneered a programme to be the first in HCM City to test drivers for drugs.

Local authorities have also conducted driving licence tests and alcohol tests on drivers.

Ho Van Phuoc, chairman of the ward’s People’s Committee, said the locality was committed to continuing the tests in the future to reduce accidents caused by drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

According to Captain Nguyen Huu Hau, deputy head of the ward’s police department, some drivers high on drugs refused to take the test and tried to escape. It has long been known some drivers take heroin, but police need co-operation from multiple forces to address the violations.

In a related move, Hanoi’s transport department asked transport companies to conduct health check-ups on all drivers before February 28.

The checks must be conducted at medical centres certificated by the health ministry. They will test for morphine and heroin, amphetamines, methamphetamine and marijuana.

The tests were ordered after a tragic accident in HCM City on January 2. A truck driver who later tested positive for heroin and alcohol hit 21 motorbikes waiting at a red light at Nhut Chanh junction in the city’s Ben Luc District, killing three people on the spot and injuring 18 others. 

Source: VNS