Eight-year fugitive captured in cross-border police operation
- Date modified:8:42, 28/3/2026
A man wanted since 2018 has been arrested after spending years in hiding in Laos, with police citing cross-border coordination in the operation.
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Và Giống Và in custody. — Photo congan.nghean.gov.vn |
NGHỆ AN — A man accused of drug offences has been arrested after spending eight years on the run in Laos, police in central Việt Nam said on Friday.
Và Giống Và, 60, had been wanted since 2018 on charges of illegal drug trading and allowing drug use on his premises. He was detained on Thursday in a joint operation involving Vietnamese and Laotian police.
Investigators say Và fled across the border shortly after becoming the subject of a manhunt and had since kept a low profile, cutting off contact with family, changing his name and moving between remote areas with difficult access.
His arrest follows what officials described as a period of tracking and verification, carried out in coordination with Lao counterparts.
Và, who is from Huồi Tụ Commune in the central province of Nghệ An, has been brought back to Việt Nam and is now in custody.
The case is under further investigation. — VNS
