02 October 2004 :

A man in northern Vietnam was sentenced to death by firing squad and three others received life terms in jail as courts enforced a zero tolerance approach to illegal narcotics. Nguyen Van Hung, 40, the ringleader of a group of 12, was sentenced to death after being convicted of trafficking 1,420 grams (about 50 ounces) of heroin. His wife received a life term, the Vietnam News Agency said. Their two accomplices were given life terms in the same trial. The Hanoi people's court also handed down jail terms ranging from 30 months to 20 years to eight other defendants. Police detected the ring in July 2002 after it had trafficked large quantities of drugs from Ha Tay province in the north to the capital.