Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Mar. 6 (VNA) - Viet Nam achieved remarkable results in drug and prostitution control last year with over 5,000 communes, wards and towns free from drug abuse and prostitution, up 13.8 percent from a year earlier.

Last year, a number of anti-drug border troop forces was set up to join the police and customs forces in combating drug-related crimes in all regions. These forces have uncovered numerous notorious and long-standing drug trafficking syndicates and critical drug abuse areas, including the long-standing points of Ma Lang in Ho Chi Minh City, Na U in northern Lai Chau province, Thom Mom O in northern Son La province and Hung Long in north central Nghe An province.

According to statistics released at a conference reviewing the drug and prostitution control in 2002, with 14,167 drug crime cases being discovered and 23,199 drug-related criminals being arrested last year, 10.5 percent and 9.5 percent up respectively, the volume of heroin confiscated by these forces increased 62 percent over the previous year; while marijuana, 72.7 percent; and narcotics, 19 percent.

The detoxification work also showed remarkable progress in 2002, when the country made heavy investment in building and expanding detoxification centres to increase the service capacity by 30-50 percent. About 46,700 drug users went to the detoxification centres to quit their habit, accounting for 40 percent of the total monitored drug addicts nationwide. Nearly 7,000addicts in 40 cities and provinces, who have kicked their habit, were provided with vocational training, making up 15 percent of the country's drug users.

Detox and functional rehabilitation centres in the northern province of Tuyen Quang and Ho Chi Minh City are reportedly doing a good job. The centres in Tuyen Quang, for instance, offered the three-stage detoxification, namely detoxifying, working and being supervised, which helped reduce the re-addiction rate to 9 percent.

Together with anti-drug activities, police forces razed 1,351 prostitution nests, arrested 5,405 involved persons, including 1,000 brothel owners. Last year saw nearly 600 prostitution-involved cases with 760 defendants prosecuted, of which 31 were sentenced to 10-20 years' imprisonment and 69 were given to 7-10 year jail sentences. Thousands of female prostitutes were sent to dignity rehabilitation centres.

Despite these efforts, the country's number of prostitutes, drug users and drug-related criminals is on the rise, reaching 114,000 drug addicts and 51,000 prostitutes.

To help strengthen drug abuse and prostitution control, all the participants in the conference agreed to boost information dissemination campaigns at all communes, wards and towns across the country, oversee at least 60 percent of the rehabilitated drug addicts and tighten control over drug trafficking to root up drug abuse areas, initially focusing on those in Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, the northern port city of Hai Phong, the northern provinces of Thai Nguyen, Lai Chau and Son La, and the north central province of Nghe An.