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]