Nearly 400 drug addicts have escaped from a rehabilitation centre in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung tau where they were detained to receive compulsory treatment.
At around 8 pm on April 13, nearly 400 drug addicts at the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Vocational Training Centre in Tan Thanh District attacked security guards and rioted in the centre.
A number of the drug addicts pretended to fight one another and then called the security officers to intervene. They then rushed to attack the security officers and hundreds of inmates broke down the gates and walls to escape.
Hundreds of police of different forces have been arranged to block streets to arrest the addicts.
According to several local residents, some of the drug addicts hijacked two cars while many broke into local households near the centre to steal clothes.
Many were re-arrested and taken to the centre this morning while the police have continued to hunt for the rest.
Some drug addicts were re-arrested and taken to the centre
Several large escapes have been reported across Vietnam in recent years following a government order to increase the period of mandatory rehab treatment from one to two years.
In September 2015, around 400 inmates in a drug rehabilitation centre in the northern port city of Hai Phong also organised a mass escape.
In 2012, nearly 100 drug users escaped from an education and vocational training centre in Quang Nam province.
By the end of last year, Vietnam had more than 204,000 drug users, up 23% compared to late 2013. The country has seen an annual rise in the number of new drug addicts. Vietnam has 123 rehabilitation centres.
