Vietnam arrests 65 for smuggling drugs in toothpaste tubes

The Vietnamese authorities have arrested 65 people for smuggling 50kg of drugs into the country.

Some of the drugs were hidden in toothpaste tubes, according to a report by the BBC.

The arrests follow similar detentions of four Vietnam Airlines cabin crew members in March.

They were found to be carrying toothpaste tubes in their carry-on bags after a flight from Paris to Ho Chi Minh City.

The flight crew had said they were hired to transport the toothpaste, which amounted to around 60kg in weight. But they said that they did not know the tubes contained drugs.

Investigators said the four women were currently out on bail.

Vietnamese police said this week they uncovered another six shipments of drugs being smuggled into the country via the same route.

The 65 suspects were detained soon after and are being probed for various charges, including buying, selling and transporting drugs, local media reported.

The police believe the same smuggling ring that hired the flight attendants directed the 65 suspects, and the syndicate likely taps Vietnamese nationals studying and living in France to transport drugs into Vietnam.

The amount of drugs seized via air routes into the country over the past three months has exceeded that of airborne drugs trafficked in the past five years combined, the Vietnamese authorities said.

Vietnam has some of the strictest drug laws in the world. Despite that, however, it remains a major trafficking hub.

Ho Chi Minh City is an attractive transit point due to its proximity to neighbouring Cambodia.

Those convicted in Vietnam of possessing or smuggling more than 600g of heroin or more than 2.5kg of methamphetamine face the death penalty.

The same penalty applies for the production or sale of illegal narcotics above certain quantities.