Acting on suspicious X-ray images, authorities traced the supply chain and arrested a Nigerian national who was receiving 2 kg of crystal methamphetamine and two bricks of heroin.
The Customs Control Team of the Region IX Customs Sub-department, in coordination with competent authorities, detected and arrested a Nigerian national who was receiving a shipment containing 2 kg of crystal methamphetamine and two bricks of heroin that had been sophisticatedly concealed.
At approximately 8:30 PM on August 5, while inspecting a road transport vehicle entering Vietnam from Laos via the Lao Bao International Border Gate (Quang Tri Province), customs officers used scanning equipment and detected suspicious imagery within a piece of consigned cargo.
Upon inspecting the package, authorities discovered narcotics hidden inside a water heater and electronic components. Suspecting a case of transnational drug trafficking, the leadership of the Region IX Customs Sub-department assigned the Customs Control Team to lead the investigation and track down the recipient, coordinating with the Lao Bao International Border Gate Customs, the Drug Crime Investigation Police Division (PC04) of the Quang Tri Provincial Police, the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Division, and the Quang Tri Border Guard.Following a multi-location investigation, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City caught Izuchukwu Calistus Odionye (a Nigerian national born in 1983) red-handed on August 9 as he arrived to collect a shipment containing narcotics.
Seized evidence included 2 kg of suspected synthetic crystal drugs and two bricks of suspected heroin, all concealed within the shipment.
Upon questioning, the suspect admitted that the items were narcotics and stated he had been hired to collect the shipment in Ho Chi Minh City for onward transport to Hanoi.
Authorities are currently expanding the investigation into the case.