Hanoi bar owner accused of leading 107kg drug trafficking ring

The Hanoi People’s Procuracy has indicted Vu Quang Minh, 42, Nguyen Hoang Linh, 40, and Nguyen Thi Ninh, 28, on charges of illegally trading narcotics.

Their trial is expected to open in mid-September.

According to the indictment, the three are being held criminally responsible for more than 24.5 kilograms of ketamine and 82.2 kilograms of MDMA.

Prosecutors identified Minh, owner of F1 Bar on Le Quang Dao Street, as the alleged mastermind, Linh as an accomplice, and Ninh as the person who directly handled storage and deliveries.

Apartment used as drug warehouse

The case was uncovered when police checked Ninh in the basement of an apartment building at Goldmark City in Hanoi.

At the time, she was arranging for nine cardboard boxes to be unloaded from a courier company’s vehicle.

Police found 12 plastic containers holding white crystals and 36 bottles containing pink tablets. Tests later identified the substances as more than 24.5 kilograms of ketamine.

A subsequent search of Ninh’s apartment in the same building uncovered another 82.2 kilograms of MDMA packed in more than 100 plastic bags and containers.

The tablets came in different colors and shapes, including hearts, faces, and pills marked with the word “Tesla.”

Investigators said Ninh had rented the apartment for VND15 million (about US$570) a month since September 2022 to store drugs.

She allegedly received shipments delivered by courier services and stored them in the apartment.

Order details, including the type and quantity of drugs and the buyer’s phone number and address, were sent to her through Telegram.

For nearby customers, Ninh allegedly made deliveries herself. For others, she used motorbike taxis, Grab drivers, or delivery services, according to the indictment.

Payments were transferred to designated accounts in advance. Prosecutors said Ninh also deposited cash into bank accounts and transferred the money as instructed.

On two occasions, she allegedly deposited a total of VND1.97 billion ($74,800) into an account under another person’s name.

Bar owner accused of leading operation

Ninh initially told investigators that she delivered drugs for Linh, a former security guard at F1 Bar.

She later said Minh was the person who directed both of them.

According to her testimony, Minh began trafficking drugs around October 2022 after suffering business losses, sourcing narcotics from abroad for distribution in Hanoi.

Minh allegedly instructed Ninh to receive order details from a Telegram account named “Linh Hoang,” deliver the drugs, and collect payments.

Investigators said electronic data showed repeated calls and messages between the account and Ninh, who later identified Linh as its user.

Both Linh and Minh denied involvement.

After Ninh was arrested, Minh fled Vietnam and was later arrested in Cambodia in a separate case involving 5.3 kilograms of synthetic drugs.

When questioned by Vietnamese investigators in Phnom Penh, Minh acknowledged knowing Ninh and Linh because they had worked at his businesses but denied directing them to traffic drugs.

Prosecutors, however, said witness statements, electronic data, and other evidence showed that Minh was the mastermind.

The indictment alleges that the drugs seized in the apartment building basement and the rented apartment were intended for sale, bringing the total amount involved in the case to nearly 107 kilograms.