The HCM City People’s Court also sentenced three other ring members to life imprisonment charged with illegally trading heroin.

The five facing capital punishment are Vo Anh Tuan, Nguyen Xuan Dan, Luu Hoang Thao, Vo Tien Thang, and Hoang Phung Bac Son, and the three facing life sentences are Tran Ngoc Dinh, Lu Huu Loi and Truong Van Hoa.

The six remaining members of the ring received prison sentences ranging from 7 to 20 years.

The trans-Vietnam drug trafficking ring, broken in January 2010, had operated since 2001, during which it illegally possessed and sold 20 heroin cakes and more than 300 grams of amphetamine.