The information was given by Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phung Van Dang, deputy head of the municipal drug crime investigation board.
HCM City police seized 1.6 tonnes of drugs of different kinds in the first nine months of this year
Dang admitted that drug crimes were on the rise in HCM City.
According to Dang, over the past five years, the city has seen an annual average 88.5% rise in the amount of confiscated drugs.Between January and September, 2,988 people were arrested for being involved in drug trafficking.
The southern hub of HCM City is showing signs of becoming a transit point for drugs to be distributed to other countries later, Dang said, noting that more foreigners have been found drug trafficking.
At present, HCM City has around 24,000 drug addicts, including 10,000 being managed, however the real figure would be much higher.
