Spanish model detained in HCM City on drug-related charges

Spanish model and actress Andrea Aybar has been arrested by HCM City police for involvement in drug activity. — Photo courtesy of the HCM City Police

HCM CITY — Vietnamese police in HCM City have arrested a Spanish model and actress who has been living in Việt Nam for years for drug-related activities.

On Saturday, authorities conducted a raid at an apartment in Thủ Đức City, resulting in the detention of Andrea Aybar and several others on charges of drug use and other drug-related activities.

A preliminary drug test showed that the 29-year-old model tested positive for controlled substances.

In a separate case, Tân Bình District police detained singer Chi Dân, 34, a local singer, and others under similar allegations who also tested positive for drugs.

The model, known in Việt Nam as Nguyễn Thị An, has resided in Việt Nam since her childhood and is fluent in English, Vietnamese, and Spanish.

She gained prominence within the Vietnamese modelling industry between 2012 and 2014 and has appeared in several films in Việt Nam, but she has been largely absent from the entertainment industry in recent years.

The arrests are part of a wider investigation into a drug trafficking network allegedly smuggling narcotics from France to Việt Nam, according to the city police.

City police have successfully dismantled 146 drug trafficking rings and have indicted 630 suspects this year.

To date, nearly 500 drug-related groups have been dismantled, resulting in 1,132 indictments and 201 individuals referred for rehabilitation.

Authorities have seized 323.5kg of drugs, 12 firearms, and three grenades, with transactions exceeding VNĐ28 trillion (US$1.1 billion).

Việt Nam enforces some of the world’s most stringent drug laws, mandating the death penalty for trafficking or transporting 100 grams or more of heroin or cocaine, or 300 grams or more of methamphetamine. — VNS