HANOI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese police busted many drug trafficking rings in the first quarter of this year, confiscating over 6 tons of illicit drugs, higher than the amount seized last year and tripling that in 2017, Vietnam News Agency reported on Saturday.

Statistics of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security showed that 20 percent of the seized drugs were intended to be supplied to users in Vietnam.

Major cases busted included the nearly 300 kg of methamphetamine confiscated at Cau Treo border gate in central Ha Tinh province in February, and 570 kg of methamphetamine seized in Ho Chi Minh City in March.

In April alone, police grabbed 700 kg of methamphetamine in Quynh Luu district and another 600 kg of the drug in Vinh city of central Nghe An province, along with another 1.1 tons of methamphetamine in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vu Van Hau, deputy director of the ministry's police department for drug crime investigation, said that in the case uncovered in Ho Chi Minh City, drugs had been transported from Thailand through Laos and Cambodia to Vietnam, and they were destined for other countries.

He noted synthetic drugs from the Golden Triangle, a mountainous area on the borders of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, are spreading to around the world, and Vietnam is located on the trafficking route.

According to the Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kg of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty.