Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Laosagreed to strengthen coordination to crack down on drug crime in their borderareas at the 12th meeting of drug prevention and combat units in Hanoi onDecember 26.

The involved parties include the department ofdrug crime investigation under Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security; the drug andcrime prevention department of the Border Guard High Command under Vietnam’sMinistry of Defence; and the drug prevention department of the generaldepartment of police under the Lao Ministry of Public Security.

Vietnam and Laos share a borderline of nearly2,340 km that runs across through 10 Vietnamese provinces: Dien Bien, Son La,Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam,and Kon Tum. 

The line also appears in 10 Lao provinces:Phongsaly, Luang Prabang, Houaphan, Bolykhamsay, Khammoune, Savannakhet,Salavan, Xiengkhouang, Sepon, and Attapeu.

This line is among the hot spots of drugtrafficking, according to Major General Pham Van Cac, head of the department ofdrug crime investigation.

In recent times, the department has discoveredcomplicated situations in Lao areas bordering Vietnamese provinces of Dien Bien,Son La and Thanh Hoa, along with areas in Vietnamese border provinces of NgheAn and Kon Tum, he said.

Traffickers are mainly ethnic minoritypeople. 

To prevent the crime, the three units havedeployed a number of programmes such as joining forums and joint activities ofcountries in the world, particularly in the Southeast Asian region and theWest-East economic corridor.

Vietnamese and Lao anti-drug forces haveconducted 255 bilateral border patrols and cracked down on 4,254 cases,capturing 5,768 people involved and seizing over 496.91kg of heroin, 584kg ofsynthetic drug, and more than 560,300 meth pills.

Delegates from the three units discussedspecific measures to promote their achievements over the past time as well asfurther deepen the trilateral cooperation in the field, Cac said.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Inpong Chanthavongsa,deputy head of the Lao drug crime prevention department, said Lao anti-drug forceswill continue coordinating with Vietnamese counterparts to implement anti-drugmeasures, contributing to building a Vietnam-Laos borderline of peace andfriendship./.