Regarding the arrest of four Vietnam Airlines flight attendants who brought drugs from France to Tan Son Nhat, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department held a press conference.
On the afternoon of March 17, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department held a press conference with specific information on the discovery of more than 10kg of ecstasy and synthetic drugs in toothpaste tubes brought back from France by four flight attendants of Vietnam Airlines. Nguyen Huu Nghiep – Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department – chaired the press conference.
11.4kg of drugs in the luggage of four flight attendants
Talking privately with Tuoi Tre Online, Nghiep said that the amount of drugs seized in this case was very large. This is a case where customs forces cooperate with functional agencies to perform the role of security protection. If this amount of drugs enters Vietnam, the negative impact on security and society will be incalculable.
This arrest is also a warning for those who intend to take advantage of Vietnam’s favorable policies to transport banned substances.
Accordingly, on March 16, Tan Son Nhat Airport Customs Branch conducted screening and suspected that some of the flight attendants’ luggage contained banned substances. Results found in the luggage of four flight attendants with ecstasy and methamphetamine.
Four flight attendants named: Vo Tu Quynh, Tran Thi Thu Ngan, Nguyen Thanh Thuy and Dang Phuong Van.
For specific information about the case, Bui Le Hung – Head of Tan Son Nhat Airport Customs Branch – said that when detecting abnormal signs in the luggage of the flight attendants, the branch cooperated with PC04 and Team 6 of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department.
When checking the tubes of toothpaste and mouthwash in the luggage of these flight attendants, the authorities found 11.4kg of ecstasy and synthetic drugs. Specifically, it consists of 8,400 grams of gray tablets and 3,080 white powders, all samples tested were drugs.
In which, Vo Tu Quynh’s luggage contains 43 boxes of toothpaste with the words “Signal Expert White” printed on the outside, 31 of these boxes contain many gray tablets weighing about 2.18kg. The remaining 12 boxes contain white powder weighing about 1kg.
In Nguyen Thanh Thuy’s luggage, there are also 43 boxes of toothpaste on the outside with the words “Signal Expert White“, 31 boxes containing many gray tablets weighing about 2.18kg, and 12 boxes containing white powder weighing about 1kg.
Dang Phuong Van’s luggage contained 2,020 grams of gray tablets and 2,000 grams of white powder while Tran Thi Thu Ngan’s luggage contains 780 grams of gray tablets.
“Unprecedented case”
The customs representative said that at the time of being discovered, the flight attendants were very cooperative and did not react.
The case is still under investigation. Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Branch continues to coordinate with drug control team – Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department, Southern region anti-drug control team – Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department General Department of Customs, Room 7, Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (C04) and Drug Crime Investigation Police Department – Ho Chi Minh City Police (PC04) continue to take the next professional steps.
According to Hung, this is an unprecedented case. In the past, customs authorities have also detected violations of flight attendants on hand luggage, but this is the first-time detecting violations of banned substances.
“Through solving this case, we also want to warn the subjects not to transport banned substances for profit or greed. The customs office creates favorable conditions for people, but we still have measures to conduct inspection to strengthen drug prevention and control,” Nghiep emphasized.
Earlier on March 17, a representative of Vietnam Airlines said that on March 16, Tan Son Nhat Customs Branch informed that four flight attendants were temporarily detained on a flight from Paris to HCM City on March 15, due to suspicions in the luggage of these flight attendants that they were carrying banned substances.
After receiving the information, Vietnam Airlines decided to suspend the performance of the four flight attendants mentioned above to serve the investigation.
Currently, Vietnam Airlines is closely coordinating with the authorities to investigate the case, handle the right people and the right violations in accordance with the law and the unit’s labor rules.
According to the initial information of Tuoi Tre Online, the flight attendants on flight VN 10 from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport (France) landed at Tan Son Nhat airport at 8:10 am on March 16.
When the flight landed, the customs force at Tan Son Nhat international terminal discovered and kept four flight attendants carrying more than 10kg of synthetic drugs to Vietnam.
The flight attendants and drugs were handed over by the customs authority to the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (PC04), Ho Chi Minh City Police.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
