On the afternoon of March 26, the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (C04, Ministry of Public Security) announced that it had just coordinated with professional units of the Ministry of Public Security to break up the largest illegal drug production case ever.

In the case, C04 arrested 11 subjects (4 Chinese, 3 Taiwanese (China), 4 Vietnamese), seized 1.4 tons of high-purity ketamine, and nearly 80 tons of chemicals.

Initially, C04 identified the ringleader as Truong Xuan Minh (51 years old, Taiwanese nationality, China). Minh came to Vietnam in 2021, creating a cover for investment, business, and ornamental fish farming. Minh lived as husband and wife with Pham Thi Le Han (30 years old, in Khanh Hoa). Minh's effective assistant was Doan Van Hung (42 years old, in Khanh Hoa).

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Authorities seized 1.4 tons of ketamine. Photo: CACC

Rent land in cemetery area to avoid being watched

In November 2024, Minh asked someone to rent a 1,000m2 plot of land in the cemetery north of Vinh Luong commune (Nha Trang city). This is a remote area with few people passing by and difficult access. Minh assigned people to guard it, installed surveillance cameras, and raised dogs to detect intruders.

To gather raw materials, chemicals and related equipment, Minh rented an additional 300m2 plot of land 3km away from the facility.

After renting the land, Minh hired 2 Chinese and 4 Vietnamese people to construct and build the facility, install a 3-phase electrical system, buy a generator, and install drug production lines, including 7 large-capacity reactor and refrigeration systems, centrifuges, odor treatment machines, vacuum pumps, and water filters.

Inside the 'huge' drug factory on a 1,000m2 plot of land in Nha Trang City Inside the 'huge' drug factory on a 1,000m2 plot of land in Nha Trang City

At the end of January 2025, the factory was completed, the subjects transferred raw materials and chemicals and started production phase 1. Chemicals were put into the mixer, combined with additives and adjusted the temperature to create a reaction between the chemicals.

The ingredients of this phase were about 1.8 tons of yellow powder, which the subjects packed into 27 foam boxes, then sent to a cold storage in Nha Trang City. After that, Minh announced to stop production and let the subjects go home.

In this stage, the subjects created a cover for producing foaming agents for wastewater treatment. Just a few days later, Minh recruited four other people, and hired two Taiwanese (Chinese) subjects with qualifications in drug production to continue with phase 2.

Minh ordered the purchase of many pots, cotton, plastic baskets, and industrial gas stoves. The finished products in phase 1 were brought to the factory, solvents were added, and they were continuously heated on a gas stove. Then they were filtered through a layer of cotton to create sediment and then centrifuged to produce white powder.

Next, the subjects took the goods to the warehouse at 47 Cat Loi, Nha Trang City to carry out the final stage of producing pure ketamine.

All activities were carried out by the subjects mainly at night until dawn for many days.

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Drug manufacturing factory area. Photo: CACC

Quickly "cast net" to arrest many subjects

Assessing that the subjects had produced drugs, if they completed the production, the subjects would temporarily stop their activities and return to their country, so the Task Force decided to solve the case when the opportunity was favorable.

C04 reported to the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security to allow the unit to coordinate with Khanh Hoa Provincial Police, Institute of Criminal Science, Department of Technical Services (Ministry of Public Security), Khanh Hoa Provincial Customs Department, Anti-smuggling Investigation Department, Customs Department (Ministry of Finance), Department 4 - Supreme People's Procuracy to crack the case.

As a result, at 0:00 on March 22, nearly 200 officers and soldiers simultaneously attacked and arrested subjects who were illegally producing drugs.

At the production facility, authorities seized 118kg of finished ketamine, 160 liters of ketamine solution, 17 tons of chemicals, and production lines and equipment for drug production.

At the warehouse at 47 Cat Loi, about 90kg of ketamine, 270 liters of solution and production lines and equipment for drug production were seized.

At the warehouse in Vinh Phuong commune, about 57 tons of chemicals and 380 liters of gas were seized. 16 subjects related to this criminal organization were detained to serve the investigation and classification.