Four arrested in 600 kg Meth drug case in Vietnam, may face death penalty

Authorities have seized more than half a tonne of methamphetamine in one of the largest drug busts in recent years. Four people have been arrested after police stormed a house in Central Nghe An province where they found 600kg of meth. Some were stuffed in speaker boxes. Police said they are investigating the source of the meth and where it was to be shipped to.

The Ministry of Public Security said the meth shipment was about to be loaded onto trucks for delivery. The house where the drugs were stored was occupied by an elderly couple believed to be related to one of the dealers. The major haul follows a weekend seizure of 30kg of drugs in southern An Giang province, of which about 18kg was found stored in packages for tea and vitamin supplements.

Experts say synthetic narcotics manufactured in the lawless 'Golden Triangle' region straddling Myanmar, Laos and Thailand often find their way into Vietnam, which is both a hub for drug use and also a popular thoroughfare for shipments of illicit narcotics. Moreover, Vietnam boasts some of the world's toughest drug laws, and anyone caught with more than 600g of heroin or more than 2.5kg of meth can face the death penalty.