Vietnam court sentences 11 people to death in major drug trafficking case

The rulings come as Vietnam considers changes to its use of the death penalty. Last month, the government proposed abolishing the death penalty for six crimes, including drug trafficking, as part of changes to the penal code. However, the proposed changes have not yet come into force.

A court in Vietnam has sentenced 11 people to death in one of the country's largest drug trafficking cases, following an investigation that began when four flight attendants were caught with narcotics hidden in toothpaste tubes in 2023, state media reported.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court has handed down death sentences to 11 defendants found guilty of drug trafficking in a case involving a total of 227 defendants, the VnExpress portal reported.

The case was initiated after more than 10 kilograms of drugs were discovered hidden in 157 toothpaste tubes carried by four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants in March 2023 upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City from Paris, VnExpress reported.

Authorities later determined that the women were transporting the drugs without knowing what was in the shipment, the report said. Investigators then uncovered what prosecutors described as a transnational drug trafficking network that smuggled narcotics from France to Vietnam disguised as consumer goods.

Prosecutors said members of the network used encrypted messaging apps, bank accounts opened in other people's names and delivery services to distribute drugs across southern Vietnam, VnExpress reported.

Information about the lawyers representing the 11 people sentenced to death was not immediately available.

At least 20 other defendants in the case were sentenced to life in prison, the report said.

The rulings come as Vietnam considers changes to its death penalty. Last month, the government proposed abolishing the death penalty for six crimes, including drug trafficking, as part of a revision to the penal code. However, the proposed changes have not yet come into force.

Source: vijesti.me, Staff, September 03, 2026

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