Vietnamese authorities have dismantled the country’s largest synthetic drug manufacturing operation, seizing 1.4 tons of ketamine in Nha Trang, a coastal tourist destination, according to a government announcement.
The culmination of a six-month investigation led to a coordinated raid last Saturday involving 200 officers across three connected sites in the southern city. The operation resulted in the arrest of 11 individuals, including a Taiwanese citizen suspected to be the operation’s leader.
Describing the bust as Vietnam’s largest ever of its kind, Nguyen Van Vien, the head of the department specializing in drug-related crime investigations, noted in a statement on the government’s news portal that the facility operated on an “exceptionally large-scale” with advanced technology.
Among those apprehended were four Vietnamese, four Chinese, and three Taiwanese nationals. The alleged leader, 51-year-old Chang Chun Ming, had been under surveillance by police since entering Vietnam last August with a substantial shipment of glass tubes, the portal reported.
Chang secured a 1,300-square meter plot of land in a remote section of Nha Trang in November. The area, a popular spot for Chinese tourists, was used to enlist two other Taiwanese nationals skilled in drug production. Operations primarily occurred at night, with semi-finished products transferred to another location for refinement.
Authorities reported that the seized drugs were of very high purity; however, none had been distributed or sold either in Vietnam or internationally.
In an unrelated case, a Vietnamese court sentenced 27 individuals to death in December for trafficking more than 600 kilograms of various narcotics including heroin, ketamine, and methamphetamine.
Vietnam enforces some of the strictest drug laws globally, with courts frequently issuing death sentences for drug offenses. Possession of over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine can result in a death penalty.
The country lies near the “Golden Triangle” region—where Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar converge—known for drug production. Vietnamese police have noted that Ho Chi Minh City, a major business hub, is increasingly becoming a focal point for traffickers, a trend facilitated by improvements in transport infrastructure.
