Man Allegedly Offered 1.2 Billion Dong Bribe to Recover More Than a Ton of Drugs

Vietnamese police say Trần Ngọc Danh tried to arrange a 1.2 billion dong payment to officials after authorities seized a fishing vessel carrying more than a ton of ketamine. He allegedly asked Nguyễn Văn Niềm to make the approach so the vessel could be released and the drugs recovered.

The Ministry of Public Security’s drug crime investigation department said it had opened a case and charged four suspects with illegal drug transportation, four with brokering bribes, and one with offering bribes and illegally transporting drugs. Investigators described the case as a particularly serious international trafficking network involving foreign nationals and Vietnamese accomplices.

The network allegedly used fishing boats to move drugs from foreign waters through Vietnamese waters for onward distribution in a third country. On May 25, authorities found the vessel BT-92066-TS in waters near the Vietnam-Indonesia maritime boundary. It carried about 8,000 liters of undocumented diesel and 58 sacks hidden inside the walls on both sides of the boat.

Police said the sacks contained 1,160 tea-bag-style packages filled with a white crystalline substance. Testing identified the substance as ketamine, with a total weight of 1.16 tons and an estimated black-market value of about 800 billion dong. Investigators said questioning the vessel’s four crew members identified Danh as the person directing them.

Authorities described Danh as a key link in the case and coordinated a search that led to his arrest while he was allegedly trying to cross into another country through an unofficial route with Niềm. The defense and public security ministries later recognized units involved in dismantling the trafficking network, with commendations issued to three groups and unexpected rewards for 24 others.