Vietnam has sentences 8 to death for heroin trafficking.
Vietnam has sentences 8 to death for heroin trafficking.Reuters

A court in North Vietnam has sentenced eight people to death for heroin trafficking.

Vietnam's state-controlled media has reported that eight people, including two women, were convicted for trafficking 189 Kilograms (416 pounds) of heroin. After a two-week trial by the People's Court in Hoa Binh province that ended on Monday, the traffickers were sentenced to death, reports UT San Diego.

Five other defendants involved in the trafficking ring were sentenced to life in prison, while 17 others were sentenced to imprisonment for six to 20 years.

Vietnam exerts very tough laws against drug trafficking. Possessing or trafficking 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of heroin is punishable by death.

A Vietnamese man was executed on Sunday in Indonesia for drug trafficking. He was among six others who were all shot to death by the authorities in Indonesia, another country infamous for their harsh drug laws.

While officials in Brazil and Netherlands, whose countrymen were also busted in the drug trafficking ring in Indonesia, were furious with the execution, calling it "cruel and inhumane", Vietnamese authorities remained mum on the matter.

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