VIETNAM SAYS FACES INCREASING NARCOTICS WOES

HANOI, Vietnam (Reuters) - Drug offences revolving around heroin are
mounting in Vietnam and police drives against the narcotics trade remain
burdened by inadequate laws and facilities, the country's anti-drugs chief
said. "The size of the drug trafficking rings are becoming larger," Vu Hung
Vuong, head of the national police anti-drug squad, told the official Tuoi
Tre (Youth) newspaper in an interview published Thursday. "It's even more
dangerous when they (traffickers) have connections with degraded elements
in state offices and law-protection agencies," he added.

Vuong said drug abuse was growing among young people, who accounted for 70%
of 132,000 heroin addicts in the communist-ruled country.

Checked-by: Richard Lake