Drugs like marijuana are illegal yet consumed widely in Vietnam, but transporting 100 grammes or more of cocaine is a criminal offence, punishable by death.
In recent years, Vietnam has sentenced several foreigners to death for drug trafficking offences, but the communist-ruled country keeps a tight lid on information and it is not clear if their executions have been carried out.
Police tackled more than 13,000 drug-related cases in the first half of this year, an 8.7 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Public Security's counter-narcotics department.
Vietnamese authorities arrested 18,500 drug traffickers, seized 880 kg of heroin, 414 kg of methamphetamine and 1.3 tonnes of marijuana and opium during that period, the department said.