What to know

• A court sentenced 11 people to death among 227 total convictions in a transnational drug network that smuggled $1.1 billion worth of synthetic drugs from France to Vietnam using flight attendants and recruited mules in concealed consumer goods.
• The network was discovered in March 2023 when customs officials found 11 kilograms of MDMA and ketamine in 157 toothpaste tubes carried by unwitting Vietnam Airlines flight attendants from Paris.
• Vietnam has some of the world's strictest drug laws and routinely imposes death sentences; however, the government proposed abolishing the death penalty for drug trafficking last month, though changes have not yet taken effect.

“prosecutors said those involved in this transnational drug trafficking network used encrypted messaging platforms and bank accounts registered under other people's names to facilitate their smuggling efforts”

Prosecutors, Prosecuting authorities · BBC Asia

Ha Danh Nam Alleged ringleaderHo Chi Minh City People's Court Sentencing authorityVietnam Airlines flight attendants (4) Unwitting couriers