Vietnam court sentences 11 to death in drug trafficking case

Eleven people have been sentenced to death by a court in Vietnam in one of the country's largest drug trafficking cases, state media report.

They are among 227 people accused in total, with prison sentences ranging from 18 months to life behind bars.

Among those sentenced to death was the person purported to be the mastermind behind the drug trafficking network, Ha Danh Nam, who investigators said arranged for the drugs to be brought from France to Vietnam.

The case began in March 2023 when four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants - arriving in Ho Chi Minh City from Paris - were caught carrying more than 10kg of drugs in 157 toothpaste tubes.

Legal affairs newspaper Bao Cong Ly reported that authorities found the flight attendants - who were not prosecuted - had unknowingly transported the drugs, which included MDMA and ketamine.

Nam was found to have hidden the drugs inside consumer goods - including dietary supplements, laundry detergent, mouthwash and coffee - and then arranged for people in France to carry them in their luggage or transported via delivery service to Vietnam.

Nam targeted Vietnamese nationals living or studying in France to act as drug mules, local media report.

Prosecutors said those involved in this transnational drug trafficking network used encrypted messaging platforms and bank accounts registered under other people's names to facilitate their smuggling efforts.

Transactions linked to the network were worth nearly 29 trillion Vietnamese dong ($1.1bn; £815m), they said.

The court found the defendants played varying roles in the network - from leaders to accomplices - and penalties were imposed according to the seriousness of their involvement.

Around 20 others on trial were sentenced to life imprisonment for the illegal buying, selling, transporting and organising of drugs.

Vietnam is one of 54 countries that still have the death penalty, rights groups say.

The government does not publish how many people are on death row as that is considered a state secret, though human rights groups say there are more than 1,000 awaiting execution.

Last month, the Vietnamese government proposed abolishing the death penalty for six offences including drug trafficking. These proposed changes are yet to take effect.

The proposal follows changes to the criminal code in 2025 that removed the death penalty for eight offences - including embezzlement, espionage and overthrowing the government.

One of the most high-profile figures to be handed the death penalty was tycoon Truong My Lan, who was found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to death in 2024.

The 2025 change in the law led to her death penalty being commuted to life imprisonment .