State media from Vietnam reports that nine people have received the death penalty following the arrest of a drug trafficking ring.
The conclusion of a three-day trial held in court in the central Nghe An province on Monday identified Tran Thi Mau, 56, as the ringleader of the drug ring. She and eight others received the death penalty for the trafficking of 105 kg of heroin, methamphetamine, and other, synthetic drugs from Laos to Vietnam between 2021 and 2022.
Reports indicate that Mau and her associates purchased the drugs from Laos and hired others to smuggle them into Vietnam through the jungle at night to avoid detection; however, police busted the drug ring and arrested them in May of 2022.
Two other members of the drug ring received life in prison following the trial.
Vietnam’s laws concerning drugs are extremely strict and execution is a routine punishment for drug convictions. In 2023, at least 189 people were sentenced to death in Vietnam (this is the number reported by state media, annual data is limited and rarely disclosed by the Vietnamese government), 77% (145) of these executions were for illegally trading or transporting narcotic substances.
Vietnam issues more death sentences than any other country in Southeast Asia. From 2016 to 2021, a total of 2,339 people have been sentenced to death by the Vietnamese government.
References
AFP (2024) Vietnam sentences nine to death for drug trafficking, Barron’s. Available at: https://www.barrons.com/news/vietnam-sentences-nine-to-death-for-drug-trafficking-a3eb5325 (Accessed: 24 January 2024).
Nguyen, L. (2023) Vietnam ranked among top nations for capital punishment: A capital of capital execution, The Vietnamese Magazine. Available at: https://www.thevietnamese.org/2023/11/vietnam-ranked-among-top-nations-for-capital-punishment-a-capital-of-capital-execution/ (Accessed: 24 January 2024).
Giuseppe Gillespie Writing 
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