Hanoi - Police in northern Vietnam arrested three people Friday morning for illegally transporting more than 320 kilograms of explosives and 1,800 detonators, a police official said.

Pham Van Quang, 48, Nguyen Trung Kien, 43, and Vu Van Thon, 44, were driving a van with the explosives and detonators in the back when they were arrested on their way to an illegal gold mine in Lao Cai province, 350 kilometers north of Hanoi, according to a deputy chief investigator of the province's Police Department who asked to remain anonymous.

"This is the largest amount of illegal explosives that we have ever discovered," the official said. "Earlier this year, we seized more than 100 kilograms of explosives from smugglers."

The three confessed that they were transporting the explosives and detonators to sell to illegal gold miners in Van Ban district, according to the official.

"Mining for gold is prohibited in the district, but it's common for illegal miners to use explosives for mining there," the official said. "Who knows what would happen if they use the explosive for purposes other than mining for gold?"

The price of gold Friday hit 1,125 dollars per tael in Vietnam, or 937 dollars per ounce, slightly above the world price of 926 dollars per ounce.

According to Vietnamese law, illegally manufacturing, stockpiling, transporting, using, trading or appropriating explosive materials in large quantities is punishable by between 15 years in prison and life imprisonment. (dpa)