HANOI, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Police of Vietnam's northern Lao Cai province detained two local men for smuggling 8,000 pills of synthetic drug, local media reported on Monday.

The duo, both from northern Dien Bien province, aged 26 and 31, were caught red-handed transporting the drug for distribution in Lao Cai's Muong Khuong district last Saturday. They confessed that they had bought the drug from a Lao man at 100 million Vietnamese dong (about 4,348 U.S. dollars), daily newspaper Vietnam News reported.

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.