Army plays key role in fight against crime

HAOI, 28 March (VNA) - The prevention of crime, drug trafficking, smuggling and trade fraud is an important political task of the army, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said. Phuc made the statement at a conference held by the Ministry of National Defence in Hanoi on March 26 to review a campaign against these problems. The ministry should work more effectively with in inspecting border lines and crime hotspots so it could introduce appropriate controls, he said. He also instructed the ministry to closely coordinate with countries that share the border with Vietnam. During the three-month anti-crime campaign that began last December, authorised agencies handled 245 cases of drug trafficking, involving 300 people and 120 kg of heroin. The army forces also handled another 4,600 cases involving security, arrested 26 people for human trafficking and rescued 33 victims. The same day, the Ministry of Public Security also held a conference to review the campaign, during which police nationwide investigated more than 7,400 cases of violations and broke up more than 1,000 gangs. They also handled more than 4,800 cases of economic violations and corruption.-VNA