Police in China and Vietnam have joined hands to break up a major cross-border armed drug trafficking ring and have detained a drug lord from Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Public Security on Aug 23.

The 47-year-old alleged mogul — Wei Wenshi in Chinese — is from Lang Son province in Vietnam, the ministry said.

According to Vietnamese police, he was captured while hiding in a town in Vietnam’s Nghe An province in July. Police confiscated 20.65 kilograms of heroin at the scene, and seized many guns and weapons at his home.

Police jointly captured a total of 40 gang members, including five Vietnamese. They confiscated 99.4 kg of heroin and 7.83 kg of ketamine, according to the ministry.

“Cross-border drug trafficking has seriously threatened public security and economic development, and we will work closely with our counterparts in Vietnam to fight against such crimes to maintain regional peace and development,” said An Guojun, deputy director of the narcotics control bureau of the Ministry of Public Security.

The case dates to July last year, when frontier defense police in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region identified a suspect, Gan Yunfeng, from Pingxiang, who colluded with Vietnamese suspects and smuggled drugs to Pingxiang from Vietnam, then sold them to other provinces.

“We shared intelligence with our counterparts from Vietnam and requested assistance locating and arresting the suspects,” said Yan Qiwei, head of the narcotics control department in Guangxi.

In March, when suspect Gan Yunfeng again contacted the Vietnamese suspects and smuggled drugs into Pingxiang, police captured him and seized 48.9 kg of heroin. Half a month later, under the direction of the Ministry of Public Security, police in Guangxi detained 21 gang members in Pingxiang, Dongxing and Qinzhou cities and confiscated 43.4 kg of heroin.

In May, police officers detained another 18 Chinese gang members and one Vietnamese suspect, then located drug lord Wei Wenshi.

Vietnamese police detained Wei and his three accomplices and confiscated 20.65 kg of heroin.

“The successful unearthing of the case shows that China and Vietnam have enough trust to carry out sincere law enforcement cooperation,” said Nguyen Dich Nam, deputy director of the narcotics control department under Vietnamese ministry of public security.

“The case also sets a good example and makes a new start for later cooperation to destroy the major drug trafficking rings and capture the remaining drug lords,” he added.