HANOI: A three-month anti-drug campaign involving Vietnam, China, Laos and Myanmar will begin on June 15, following talks among representatives of the four countries in Hanoi on Tuesday (June 2).
The operation, proposed by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, will be carried out with the public security ministries of China and Laos and Myanmar’s Ministry of Home Affairs.
It is set to run until Sept 15, 2026.
Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Public Security, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Long, told the conference that the four neighbouring countries share borders and occupy strategically important positions in the region.
He said they are being directly affected by drug crime, which is becoming increasingly complicated.
Long said the campaign reflects not only practical cooperation among law-enforcement agencies but also a strong political commitment to tackling global drug crime and drug abuse.
He stressed that Vietnam views drug prevention and control as a particularly important political task, requiring action from the entire political system and society.
He also underlined the long-standing coordination and support Vietnam has received from China, Laos and Myanmar in anti-drug efforts.
At the meeting, the four delegations approved a joint action plan designed to curb the illegal production, trade and transportation of narcotics and precursor chemicals.
The plan includes stronger assessment and control measures at border areas, border gates and along land, river, sea and air routes.
The countries also agreed to conduct joint investigations into transnational trafficking networks and major drug-trafficking hubs.
They will increase cooperation in finding, arresting and repatriating wanted suspects who may be hiding across borders.
The four sides will study the deployment of liaison officers to assist investigations into cross-border drug cases involving the participating countries.
They also pledged tighter supervision of legal activities involving narcotics-related substances.
Businesses that import or export chemical precursors will face closer monitoring to prevent those substances from being diverted into illicit drug production.
The campaign will cover border provinces and cities along the Vietnam-Laos, Vietnam-China, China-Laos, Laos-Myanmar and China-Myanmar borders.
It will also target other drug-crime hotspots in the four countries.
According to a 2025 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, seizures of synthetic drugs in East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific rose by 18 per cent from 2024.
The report said the Golden Triangle remained a major source of synthetic narcotics.
In 2025, Vietnam’s drug crime investigation police handled 21,998 drug-related cases and arrested 44,354 suspects, seizing large quantities of heroin, cannabis and synthetic drugs.
A major joint operation with Laos also dismantled a cross-border precursor-trafficking ring involving China, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
Authorities seized 50.7 tonnes of caffeine, which could have been used to produce more than 150 tonnes of methamphetamine tablets. - Vietnam News/ANN
