11 death sentences, 19 life terms: Vietnam court’s massive verdict in drug case involving 227

A court in Vietnam has sentenced 11 people to death and 19 others to life imprisonment in one of the country’s largest drug trafficking cases. A total of 227 defendants were convicted in a network that smuggled synthetic drugs from France, state media reported on Thursday.The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced the 11 to death for illegal drug trafficking in the case known as VN10, according to VnExpress International. The alleged ringleader, who was tried in absentia, was among those given the death penalty.Local media reported that 227 people were sentenced in the case. Other defendants received punishments ranging from 18 months suspended imprisonment to 29 years in prison for offences including drug trafficking, drug sales and failing to report crimes.Authorities uncovered the network in early 2023 after customs officials at Ho Chi Minh City’s international airport found 11 kilograms of MDMA and ketamine concealed inside more than 150 toothpaste tubes, according to state media.The toothpaste tubes had been brought from France by four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants, who had agreed to transport what they believed were consumer goods, reports said.The attendants were not prosecuted after investigators found no evidence that they knew they were carrying drugs.According to state media, the ringleader organised multiple shipments of synthetic drugs concealed in toothpaste tubes and boxes of dietary supplements. He also recruited Vietnamese people studying or living in France to collect the drugs and send them to Vietnam through international express delivery services.The trial was conducted both in person and online because of the number of defendants and involved more than 120 lawyers, Tuoi Tre reported.Vietnam has some of the world’s strictest drug laws and routinely imposes the death penalty for serious drug offences. In 2024, 27 people were sentenced to death for trafficking more than 600 kilograms of drugs, including heroin, ketamine and methamphetamine, according to reports.Last year, 11 people, including two police officers, were sentenced to death for trafficking drugs from Laos.Vietnam has used lethal injection for executions since 2013, when it replaced firing squads.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.