Drugs transiting Vietnam go primarily to Australia and North America and secondarily to Europe, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. According to the Vietnamese police, at least 60 percent of all drugs seized in Vietnam come from Laos. Because of a bilateral agreement, container cargo traffic from Laos to Vietnamese coastal ports is not inspected in Vietnam. Vietnamese narcotics reports indicate increased cannabis and heroin smuggling from Cambodia as well as drug smuggling by sea from Thailand to the Ho Chi Minh City area. Chinese crime syndicates operate in Vietnam and may be laundering drug profits by investing in development projects.
International organizations support a number of drug treatment programs.
Rehabilitation efforts have not been very successful, however, and drug abuse may be spreading to younger age groups. Official figures list 130,000 drug users, a decrease from the 180,000 previously reported, but some officials acknowledge that the figures significantly understate the extent of the problem. Reports indicate that at least 70 percent of drug users are less than 30 years of age and that about 3,000 addicts are of school age. Heroin is still the drug of choice, but use of amphetamine, ecstasy, and LSD is rapidly increasing. Police believe that 70 percent of robbery cases in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are drug-related.