Dang Van Choi (59 years old, in Mai Long commune, Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province) was prosecuted and detained for illegally growing 1,657 opium poppy plants.
According to news from Cao Bang Provincial Police on March 15, the Police Investigation Agency of Nguyen Binh District Police has just prosecuted the defendant and detained Dang Van Choi (born 1965, residing in Na Ngu hamlet, Mai Long commune, district Nguyen Binh) on the crime of growing opium poppy plants.
On March 6, while on duty in the Tra Lau ravine area of Na Ngu hamlet, Mai Long Commune Police discovered a group of plants suspected to be opium poppy plants.
Verification results showed that all of these trees belonged to Mr. Dang Van Choi. The working group made a record of the incident and confiscated all evidence including 700 trees.
After that, Dang Van Choi voluntarily admitted that there were 2 other locations growing this type of tree, with 257 trees and 700 trees, respectively. The total number of trees seized was 1,657 trees.
Dang Van Choi admitted that it was opium poppy; He planted these trees himself in small fields in the ravine area for the purpose of serving his personal needs.
On the same day, the Nguyen Binh District Police Department urgently searched Dang Van Choi’s residence and discovered and confiscated a nylon bag with many dried fruits and nuts inside, with a total weight of 14.0635 grams (Choi declared recognize these are seeds and fruits of the opium poppy plant).
All exhibits were sent by the Police Investigation Agency of Nguyen Binh District to the Institute of Criminal Science of the Ministry of Public Security for examination. On March 13, the Institute concluded that 1,657 plants sent by Nguyen Binh District Police were opium poppy plants.
Another opium poppy cultivation was also discovered in Lai Chau on March 5. The police of Ta Tong commune, Muong Te district received information that in a deep forest area about 4 hours away from the residential area, there was a plot of land growing poppy plants. On the morning of March 5, the Muong Te district police working group caught red-handed Ms. Ly Khu Nu (67 years old) going to the opium fields to exploit resin.
This field has an area of 873 square meters with over 3,200 poppy plants in the process of growing, many of which have reached the point of yielding resin. Ms. Nu confessed that she secretly grew them to get resin for use. If she harvested a lot, she would sell them.
The authorities confiscated all of the above opium poppy plants and temporarily detained Ly Khu Nu.
Yuan Ming
