HANOI, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A couple in northern Dien Bien province have been arrested when transporting 171 kg of heroin worth some 3 million U.S. dollars, the biggest-ever drug case in Vietnam, the provincial police said on Wednesday.
Vu Chu Senh, 44, and his wife Mua Thi Do, 39, who rode two motorbikes, transporting 489 cakes of heroin, were arrested on Tuesday evening.
The couple are members of a drug trafficking ring which bought heroin in Laos and transported the drug to Vietnam, said the police.
According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty.
