In one of the largest transnational drug trafficking busts in Vietnam’s modern legal history, a court has handed down death sentences to 11 convicted individuals, including the alleged ringleader of a billion-dollar smuggling operation that spanned Europe and Southeast Asia, state media confirmed this week.
In total, 227 people faced trial for their roles in the coordinated network. Penalties across all defendants ranged from 18-month prison terms to life imprisonment, with 11 receiving the ultimate capital punishment. Ha Danh Nam, the man authorities identified as the mastermind who coordinated the shipment of illegal narcotics from France to Vietnam, was among those sentenced to death.
The investigation into the criminal enterprise traces back to March 2023, when four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants arriving in Ho Chi Minh City from Paris were intercepted with more than 10 kilograms of illicit drugs hidden inside 157 toothpaste tubes. State-run legal newspaper Bao Cong Ly reported that the crew members were never prosecuted, as investigators confirmed they had unknowingly transported the contraband, which included MDMA and ketamine.
Further probes uncovered that Nam’s smuggling operation systematically hid narcotics inside everyday consumer goods, including dietary supplements, laundry detergent, mouthwash, and coffee. The ring then recruited Vietnamese nationals living or studying in France to transport the hidden drugs, either in personal checked luggage or via international courier services directly to buyers in Vietnam. To evade detection, members of the network relied on end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms and processed financial transactions through bank accounts registered under stolen or fake third-party identities, prosecutors told the court. Over the course of the operation, the total value of illegal drug transactions linked to the network reached nearly 29 trillion Vietnamese dong, equal to roughly $1.1 billion or £815 million.
Judges handed down sentences proportional to each defendant’s level of involvement in the ring, ranging from masterminding operations to low-level accomplice roles. In addition to the 11 death sentences, around 20 other defendants received life imprisonment for convictions on charges of illegal drug possession, distribution, transport, and organized trafficking.
The verdict comes amid a period of gradual shift in Vietnam’s capital punishment policy. Vietnam remains one of 54 countries globally that retains the death penalty, according to human rights organization data. The Vietnamese government classifies the total number of people on death row as a state secret, but rights groups estimate that more than 1,000 prisoners are currently awaiting execution across the country.
Just last month, the Vietnamese government tabled new legislative reforms that would remove the death penalty for six additional offenses, including drug trafficking. The proposed changes have not yet been enacted into law. This proposal follows a 2025 amendment to the national criminal code that eliminated capital punishment for eight other offenses, including embezzlement, espionage, and the charge of attempting to overthrow the government.
The 2025 legal change already led to a high-profile sentence adjustment: real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, who was sentenced to death for embezzlement in 2024, had her capital sentence commuted to life imprisonment earlier this year after the reform went into effect.