The HCM City People’s Procuracy on Monday delivered its indictment against the 227 defendants involving in a major drug trafficking ring through Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Procurators are seeking the death penalty for nine people accused of illegally trading narcotics, including Hà Danh Nậm, said to be the mastermind behind the operation.

They are part of a larger group of 227 defendants tied to a major drug trafficking ring that grew out of a March 2023 case involving four female flight attendants allegedly used to smuggle drugs through Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport.

The HCM City People’s Procuracy on Monday delivered its indictment against the 227 defendants, describing it as an extremely serious, highly sophisticated, and large-scale transnational case.

According to the procuracy, Hà Danh Nậm, 52, from Nghệ An Province organised the transportation of drugs from France to Việt Nam by air and through international express delivery services. The drugs were concealed in toothpaste, dietary supplements, confectionery, and other consumer goods.

Nậm successfully arranged six shipments before the next consignment was detected. Hoàng Sỹ Thắng was hired to receive the drugs in Đồng Nai before recruiting Bùi Vân Anh to help divide the drugs and deliver them to distribution contacts. The network subsequently developed multiple distribution branches in HCM City, former Bình Dương Province, and several other localities.

The procuracy sought the death penalty for Nậm and eight other defendants for “illegally trading in narcotic substances”, along with an additional fine of VNĐ50 million (about US$2,000) for each. It proposed life imprisonment and a VNĐ50 million fine for Hoàng Sỹ Thắng, while Bùi Vân Anh faces a proposed 20-year prison term and a VNĐ30 million fine for “illegally transporting narcotic substances”.

The procuracy said the network involved the smuggling of drugs from abroad into Việt Nam, storage, distribution, retail sales, and organisation of drug use. The defendants allegedly used Telegram, Signal and private groups to conduct transactions, as well as bank accounts registered under other people’s names, delivery services, and various concealment methods to evade detection.

The volume of drugs involved was described as particularly large and included various types of narcotics. Some defendants were also accused of possessing guns and ammunition for self-protection or to resist arrest. Evidence presented at the trial showed that the network’s transactions involved nearly VNĐ29 trillion ($1.1 billion).

Investigations on the case began on March 16, 2023, when customs officers at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport inspected the luggage of four flight attendants returning to Việt Nam on flight VN10 from France. They discovered 327 tubes of toothpaste, 157 of which contained more than 2.9kg of ketamine and 8.3kg of MDMA.

Following the discovery, HCM City police launched a special investigation and expanded the probe, uncovering a criminal network involving links between suspects inside and outside Việt Nam. According to information presented at the trial, the expanded investigation resulted in the initiation of proceedings in 477 cases with more than 2,700 suspects. — VNA/VNS