Taiwanese drug traffickers sentenced to death

This is the largest crystal methamphetamine trafficking case discovered in Viet Nam to date.

According to the indictment, on April 12, 2019, traffic police of district 5 discovered three cars parked illegally and suspected of carrying prohibited goods, so they checked the vehicles.

But when the police arrived at the site, the cars left. They coordinated with other forces to chase and stopped a 7-seat car driven by Yeh Ching Wei (born in 1986), carrying Chiang Wei Chih (born in 1988), and a truck driven by Le Hoang Phuc.

According to the investigation agency, the truck driven by Phuc was found to transport 606kg of crystal methamphetamine.

The police seized an additional 452 kg of methamphetamine in a warehouse in district 10. However, there was not enough evidence to identify these drugs belonging to the two Taiwanese men.

The police, after that, arrested Yeh Ching Wei, and Chiang Wei Chih for illegally trafficking drugs.

Chiang Wei Chih confessed that he entered Viet Nam three times from 2018 until he was arrested. Meanwhile, Yeh Ching Wei entered Viet Nam for the first time.

On the afternoon of April 10, 2019, both entered Viet Nam via Tan Son Nhat international airport under the direction of a man called "Mr. Tran" (whose identity is unknown) to find a warehouse to hide goods in Vietnam. Chiang Wei Chih agreed that he would return to Taiwan to notify "Mr. Tran" after finishing his job in Viet Nam, and would be paid US$5,000.

Chiang Wei Chih rented a self-driving 7-seat car and rented a truck from Phuc to transport the drugs.

Based on collected documents and investigation evidence, the trial panel held these two defendants to be criminally responsible for the act of illegally transporting drugs in the Vietnamese territory.

Viet Nam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 g of heroin or over 2.5 kg of methamphetamine face death.