HCMC – During a high-intensity crackdown over the Lunar New Year, customs authorities intercepted 35 drug-related cases at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, seizing a total of approximately 165 kilograms of various narcotics, including nearly 4.5kg of cocaine transported by a foreign national.
On February 27, the Customs Department reported that between December 15, 2025 and February 14, customs forces – in collaboration with other authorities – detained 42 suspects. The total haul for the two-month period included 126kg of synthetic drugs, 14.2kg of heroin, 14.18 kg of cannabis, 5.96kg of ketamine and nearly 5kg of cocaine.
Especially, on the afternoon of February 5 at the international arrival lounge of the airport in HCMC, forces apprehended a Thai female passenger. The suspect arrived on a flight from South America and was in transit through Vietnam to a third country. Upon inspection, officers discovered cocaine cleverly concealed within her personal luggage.
According to customs officials, the suspects exploited international transit routes with short layovers – sometimes as brief as one hour – to evade detection. This tactic demonstrates a highly organized and sophisticated transnational criminal network leveraging international air routes for drug trafficking.
