Xong Nhia Xenh, 30, was apprehended during a coordinated operation conducted at approximately 8:15 p.m. on July 18 in Pieng Pen village, My Ly commune, western Nghe An province, the Nghe An Provincial Border Guard Command said on July 20.

The operation was led by Na Loi Border Guard Station in coordination with the provincial Border Guard Command’s Professional Affairs Division and My Ly Border Guard Station after officers identified an individual suspected of illegally transporting narcotics across the border.

A search at the scene uncovered 16 packages containing a total of 3,200 methamphetamine pills, which were seized as evidence.

Preliminary questioning indicated that the suspect had been hired to transport the drugs from Laos into Vietnam for delivery to another individual. He was intercepted by border guards while traveling through the border area before reaching the intended recipient.

Authorities said the case is under investigation in accordance with Vietnamese law, with investigators working to identify additional suspects involved in the trafficking network.

The arrest forms part of broader efforts by Vietnamese authorities to strengthen anti-narcotics operations along the country's western border, where rugged terrain has long been exploited by transnational drug trafficking networks operating across the Greater Mekong region.

Border guard units in Nghe An have stepped up intelligence gathering, patrols and joint operations with relevant agencies in recent years to disrupt the illegal movement of narcotics and dismantle trafficking organisations operating along the Laos–Vietnam frontier.

Border guards tighten border control to curb transnational drug trafficking

VOV.VN - Vietnam’s Border Guard Force has intensified efforts along land and maritime borders to combat increasingly sophisticated transnational drug trafficking networks that exploit border areas, sea routes and international transportation channels.