14 March 2003 :

A court in northern Vietnam sentenced six men to death for trafficking nearly 90 kilograms of heroin.
The People's Court in Lai Chau province, bordering Laos, also sentenced 11 other members of the drug network, including a woman, to life in prison, a local court official said at the end of the 11- day trial.
The gang members were convicted of running a heroin trafficking network from Laos to Lai Chau and from there distributing the drug to other northern provinces from 1996 until their arrest in 2001.
The latest trial brings the total number of people sentenced to death in 2003 to 23, according to state media.
The six men sentenced to face the firing squad can appeal their sentences, but Vietnam's heavily politicised courts, the target of much criticism from international human rights groups, rarely overturn initial sentences.
Vietnam launched its campaign against drug-trafficking in 1997 and in 2001 tightened its laws to make anyone found in possession of 300 grams or more of heroin, or over 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of opium, liable for execution.
Despite the harsh penalties, Vietnam remains a key transit point for drugs produced in the notorious Golden Triangle area of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand before being shipped to North American and Europe.