Defenders in the courtroom. (Photo: NLDO)

Three other accomplices in the ring were given life imprisonment. 

According to the indictment, in May 2019 Dien Bien’s anti-drug police and customs officials caught red handed Mua A Lenh, a resident of Dien Bien born in 1987, trafficking and trading heroin.

Further investigation showed that other nine men also involved in trafficking a total of 150 cakes of heroin weighing 51kg in October 2018.

The court also ruled the convicted will hand in nearly VND400 million (US$17,000) to the State budget while the confiscated heroin will be destroyed.

According to the law, the seven convicted subject to the death sentence are entitled to appeal to the State President for pardon within seven days following the court’s ruling. VOV

One arrested after failed attempt to traffic pregnant women into China

The National Drug Agency and the High Command of the Border Guard have busted a ring of trafficking Vietnamese pregnant women into China, detaining the ringleader.

According to the enforcement agencies’ joint statement, they stopped a car attempting to illegally transport Vietnamese people to China at a border area in Na Han town of Tan Thanh commune in Van Lang district, Lang Son province, late August 18.

On board the car were six women, two of whom were pregnant, coming from Hanoi, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Nghe An, and Ha Giang provinces, respectively.

Expanding the human trafficking investigation, the police on August 19 detained Be Ngoc Tang, a 34-year-old resident of Na Lau hamlet in Tan Thanh commune, Lang Son province, who masterminded the ring to bring Vietnamese nationals, especially pregnant women, into China.

Relevant forces also rescued two women of Quang Nam and Soc Trang provinces who fell victim to the human trafficking ring. One of the women was pregnant and the other had given birth to a baby one day earlier. Both women were then transferred to a care centre under the Vietnam Women’s Union.

Currently, a further investigation is underway. VOV

Two drown, two missing after boat capsizes in Ben Tre

Two people have died and two others remain missing after their boat sank on a river in the southern province of Ben Tre. 

Rescue forces look for the missing men on the Ba Lai River on August 21.

Police in Tan Xuan Commune announced on Friday morning that rescue forces found two bodies of Tra Dang Thanh Quy, 25, and Nguyen Hoang Duy, 32 whose fishing boat sank on the Ba Lai River on the afternoon of August 20.

"We are still searching for two other men who remain missing after the boat sank," police said.

According to a police report, eight men aged between 11-34 went fishing on a three-tonne capacity boat on the Ba Lai River on early Thursday afternoon. It started to rain heavily and a strong gust of wind at around 2 pm capsized the boat.

Four managed to swim to shore. They tried to look for the others missing and then called local police for help.

Two men were found dead on the morning of August 21 while rescue forces are still looking for the remaining two. Dtinews/Tienphong

Large bomb found in Quang Tri

A 227-kilo unexploded bomb suspected to date back to the American War has been detected in the central province of Quang Tri.The bomb was found by workers at a quarry in Luong Le Village in Huong Hoa District at the depth of 20 metres on Thursday.

The bomb is found in Quang Tri on August 20.

On the same day, local authorities blocked the area when the bomb was discovered and denoted on Friday.

The.54-metre bomb appeared to be an MK82 made in the US and dropped in Quang Tri during the war.

It took the military more than two hours to access the bomb before moving it to a place for a controlled detonation.

This is the second time such a bomb was found in the quarry.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, around 6.1 million ha of land or 18.71% of Vietnam’s total area are contaminated with about 800,000 tonnes of bombs, mines and unexploded ordnance, which are scattered over 63 cities and provinces in the country, with the central region the hardest hit.

The government aims to clear about 800,000 ha of bomb-and mine-polluted land during the 2016-2025 period, while calling for domestic and international resources for the implementation of the programme. Dtinews