Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong - the 'nemesis' of drug crimes in the Northwest region

Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong (right) was awarded the Third Class Military Exploit Medal at the 60th Anniversary of the Traditional Day of the Dien Bien Provincial Border Guard (February 7, 2023). (Photo: VNA)

The Border Guard Command has honored "Outstanding Young Faces" and "Promising Young Faces" of the Border Guard in 2022.

Among the 20 officers and soldiers honored this time, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong, Captain of the Drug and Crime Prevention Team, Pa Thom Border Guard Station (Dien Bien Provincial Border Guard) was honored to be named.

In his position, with his spirit, enthusiasm, intelligence and courage, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong always strives to overcome all difficulties and hardships, and together with his teammates, achieves many outstanding achievements in the fight against crime at the border.

Promote the spirit and enthusiasm of youth

In March 2023, in the hot weather of the Pa Thom border valley (Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province), we were lucky to meet and talk with Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong, a "nemesis" of drug crimes in the Northwest region.

At the age of 29 (born in 1994), he impressed everyone at the first meeting with his cheerfulness, dynamism, and enthusiasm.

In November 2015, Mr. Vu Van Cuong started working at the Border Guard of Dien Bien province, holding the positions of Captain of the Drug and Crime Prevention Team (Si Pha Phin Border Guard Station); investigation officer, Special Task Force, Drug and Crime Prevention Team (Dien Bien Provincial Border Guard). He always actively improved his professional qualifications and skills, learned from the experiences of his predecessors, trained his strong political will, and strived to complete his assigned tasks well.

During his work, he directly participated in many major drug cases and projects, typically projects DB1221P, DB1221P.2, DB122B, DB622, A222, contributing to the establishment and successful fight against many transnational drug trafficking and criminal rings.

Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong still remembers the time he fought against the DB1221P.2 project (the peak period of crime suppression before, during and after the Lunar New Year of Nham Dan 2022). Through the work of grasping the situation, at the end of 2022, he discovered a drug trafficking and transportation ring in large quantities from the northern provinces of Laos through Dien Bien province and then transported to Lai Chau province for consumption.

Identifying this as a transnational drug trafficking and transportation ring with large quantities, complex nature, many aggressive subjects, operating in many locations, sophisticated transportation methods, taking advantage of the night, complex terrain of forests, mountains, rivers and streams..., he advised his superiors to establish and carry out the fight against project DB1221P.2.

The Pa Thom Border Guard Station's crime-fighting force organizes an ambush to capture drug criminals in the Pa Thom border area. (Photo: Xuan Tien/VNA)

After 7 days and nights of ambush, at 4:45 a.m. on February 3, 2022 (the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year of the Tiger), at Nam He intersection (Muong Tung commune, Muong Cha district, Dien Bien province), Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong and his teammates in the crime-fighting team caught Chang A Ma (born in 1992, residing in Chung Chai commune, Muong Nhe district, Dien Bien province) using a motorbike to transport 72 heroin cakes hidden in a cardboard box tied to a cargo rack.

During the investigation at the scene, Chang A Ma confessed to transporting the drugs for hire from the area of ​​landmark 65 of the Vietnam-Laos border, in Si Pha Phin commune (Nam Po district, Dien Bien province) to Lai Chau province.

Expanding the investigation, from this important "link", the crime-fighting force continued to arrest two subjects: Trang A Lu (born in 1979, residing in Phin Ho commune, Nam Po district, Dien Bien province) and Tan A Chan (born in 1980, residing in Phang Su Lin commune, Sin Ho district, Lai Chau province).

Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong shared that in the special project DB1221P.2, the methods of operation and information exchange of the subjects in this drug trafficking and consumption ring took place via mobile phones, frequently changing the time and location of drug delivery to easily escape if being followed, making the case solving task encounter many difficulties, especially ensuring absolute safety of people, weapons and equipment.

However, with the strong command and direction of superiors, along with high determination, project DB1221P.2 was successfully fought, seizing a large amount of drugs and ensuring absolute safety for the investigation force.

Sharing about the difficulties in the fight against crime, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong said that currently, the methods of subjects in drug trafficking and transportation lines are very sophisticated and complicated. The subjects are very reckless, dangerous, and ready to use "hot" weapons to fight back against the authorities when discovered and arrested. Therefore, the work of preventing and fighting crime, especially drug crimes, encounters many difficulties and faces many dangers.

During the mission, he and his fellow soldiers often had to operate independently in harsh weather conditions, facing many difficulties and shortages.

Promoting the spirit of shock and enthusiasm of the young Border Guard soldiers, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong always clearly defines his duties and tasks, upholds his sense of responsibility, constantly improves his knowledge, studies and gains experience.

He always volunteers to take the lead in performing the task of preventing and combating drugs and crimes; strives to complete all assigned tasks, contributing with the Border Guard force of Dien Bien province to bring a peaceful life to the people of all ethnic groups in the border area.

Dedicated to the task, dedicated to the job

From October 2022 to present, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong has been working at Pa Thom Border Post (Dien Bien Provincial Border Guard).

In the border area, with valuable experiences learned and accumulated during the performance of tasks at units and departments in the industry, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong actively advised the Party Committee and the Command of Pa Thom Border Guard Station to lead and direct the unit's drug and crime prevention and control forces to apply and deploy many measures suitable to the actual situation in the area and bring about clear results.

Most recently, at the end of February 2023, at landmark 106, the Vietnam-Laos border, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong and the anti-crime force of Pa Thom Border Guard Station and the Drug and Crime Prevention Department (Border Guard of Dien Bien province) successfully fought against project DB223, arrested 3 subjects, seized evidence including: 7 heroin cakes, 1 kg of crystal meth and 1 homemade gun, 1 sharp knife.

In this case, when discovered and arrested by the authorities, the subjects fled. One subject used a sharp knife to fight back in an attempt to escape but was controlled and arrested by the border reconnaissance force.

Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong (middle) at the 2023 Outstanding Young Faces Commendation Ceremony, organized by the Border Guard Command in Bac Giang. (Photo: VNA)

In 2022 alone, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong personally discovered, participated in the arrest and handling of 17 special projects and cases with 25 drug criminals, including 6 special projects, 8 provincial-level cases and 3 district-level cases, typically projects DB1221P.2, DB122B, DB622, A222.

The total amount of seized evidence was more than 264,600 synthetic drug pills, nearly 190 heroin cakes, more than 390 grams of heroin, 6 kg of opium, 2 cars, 1 flintlock gun and many other related evidences.

Having achieved outstanding results in the work of preventing and combating drug crimes, Mr. Vu Van Cuong himself has always actively built up the base, grasped the area, researched records and legal documents on the work of preventing and combating drug crimes and other crimes on the border.

He has performed well in basic professional tasks, criminal investigations in assigned areas; collected information, investigated, verified, and fought against drug trafficking and trafficking rings and other crimes in border areas and border corridors...

Talking about his achievements, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong is very humble to say that the above achievements were due to the attention, leadership, direction, and regular and timely guidance of the Party Committee and unit commanders in carrying out the assigned tasks. Each successful case is the crystallization of countless efforts and silent sacrifices of him and his teammates.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Ngo, Head of Pa Thom Border Guard Station (Dien Bien Provincial Border Guard) said that Mr. Vu Van Cuong is a cadre with good moral qualities, strong political will, enthusiasm and dynamism in all aspects of work. In particular, in the fight against drugs and crime, he and the officers and soldiers of the unit directly achieved many outstanding achievements, investigated and discovered many drug cases, drug rings and criminals, thereby contributing to preventing criminal activities and drug abuse in the area.

Colleagues also have great trust in Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong - a person with a clean, healthy, friendly and sociable lifestyle. He always upholds a sense of responsibility, enthusiasm, commitment to duty, dedication to work; actively studies, improves professional qualifications and skills; is proactive, creative, dares to think, dares to do and always upholds the spirit of being a role model, voluntarily implementing the construction of a comprehensively strong agency and unit "exemplary, typical."

After nearly 8 years working at agencies and units of the Dien Bien Provincial Border Guard, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong has gradually improved himself, improved the quality of his professional work and excellently completed his assigned tasks.

In 2022, he achieved the title of grassroots emulation soldier, "Outstanding Young Face" of the Dien Bien Provincial Border Guard; was awarded 2 certificates of merit by the People's Committee of Dien Bien province for his outstanding achievements in implementing projects A222 and 047L to combat drug trafficking and transportation from Laos to Vietnam; the Border Guard Command awarded a certificate of merit for his outstanding achievements in the fight against drugs, contributing to maintaining political security and social order and safety in the border area of ​​the Fatherland in projects DB1221 and A222.

Most recently, Senior Lieutenant Vu Van Cuong was voted one of the 10 outstanding young faces of the Border Guard in 2022./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/thuong-uy-vu-van-cuong-khac-tinh-cua-toi-pham-ma-tuy-vung-tay-bac-post852030.vnp