Police officers and border guards carrying out an anti-drug trafficking operation in Thanh Hoa's Quan Son District, which borders Laos, questioned Loc Van Duong after his actions aroused suspicion.
They found he was carrying 10 kilos of methamphetamine hidden in a jute bag.
Duong told the police that he was hired by an unidentified Laos man to carry the drugs from Laos into Vietnam through the border gate for VND200 million ($8,607). He is being held pending further investigation.
Vietnam is a key trafficking hub for narcotics in and around the "Golden Triangle," a lawless wedge of land straddling China, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar that is the world's second largest drug producing region.
Drug trafficking and consumption have persisted and worsened in Vietnam of late, despite the country having some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws.
Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600gm of heroin or more than 2.5kg of methamphetamine face the death penalty in Vietnam.
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