8 get death sentences in Vietnam's
      largest drug trial 

      Kyodo News International: HANOI, May 14 (Kyodo) _ A
      Vietnamese court on Wednesday handed down death sentences
      on eight members of a ring that smuggled 141 kilograms of heroin
      from Laos to Vietnam. 

      The Hanoi People's Court also sentenced eight to life
      imprisonment and six to prison terms ranging from one to 20 years
      at the end of Vietnam's largest drugs trial, which lasted 11 days. 

      The justended session of Vietnam's National Assembly amended
      the country's penal code to stiffen punishments for drugrelated
      crimes, with death sentences to be meted out to those possessing
      or trafficking 100 grams or more of heroin. 

      The 22 persons standing trial included eight senior police officers,
      three border guard officers, and a Laotian. 

      Police said they learned about the ring after a Laotian who was
      arrested and sentenced to death for trafficking some 15 kg of
      heroin from Laos to Vietnam divulged the names of the people
      involved just moments before he faced the firing squad. 

      As of April, 40 alleged ring members, including 12 police officers
      and four border guards, had been arrested, police said. 

      The trial and the topic of drug trafficking and abuse have received
      major coverage in the media in recent days, with reports of
      government and National Assembly officials voicing concern
      about the scourge of drugs on the country's youth. 

      [Copyright 1997, Kyodo News International]