2 death sentences for subjects who "camouflaged" 10 kg of drugs in milk cartons

On January 3, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial to try defendants Nguyen Quang Bich (born in 1986, residing in Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district); Mai Dinh Phuoc (born in 1984, residing in Tan Lac town, Quy Chau district) for the crimes of "Illegal possession of narcotics" and "Illegal trading of narcotics"; Do Quang Thanh (born in 1976) and Tran Duy Tuong (born in 1984), both residing in Thanh Tri district, Hanoi, were prosecuted for the crime of "Illegal transportation of narcotics".

According to the case file, on July 20, 2017,Le Ngoc Son (born in 1985, residing in Le Mao ward, Vinh city) assigned Bich and Phuoc to go to Hanoi to receive 10 kg of crystal meth to transport to Ho Chi Minh city to sell to a person named Tuan for 340 million VND/kg. Bich will be paid 10 million VND/kg of drugs.

Nguyen Quang Bich and his accomplices at the trial. Photo: Quynh An.

On the afternoon of July 25, 2017, after receiving the goods, Bich hid 2 kg of crystal meth in 2 milk powder cartons and sold them to Do Quang Thanh for 700 million VND. The remaining amount of drugs was "disguised" by Bich in 8 other milk cartons and handed over to Phuoc to transport by bus to Ho Chi Minh City. Bich paid Phuoc 80 million VND for the work.

At 4:00 a.m. on July 26, 2017, when Phuoc was transporting 8 kg of drugs hidden in a milk carton on a passenger bus from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, he was discovered and caught red-handed by Nghe An police on National Highway 1A, passing through Nghi Long commune, Nghi Loc district.

Based on Phuoc’s testimony, on July 27, Nghe An Provincial Police arrested Nguyen Quang Bich. During an emergency search of Bich’s residence in Tan Phu Ward, District 9, Ho Chi Minh City, the authorities seized more than 6 grams of synthetic drugs.

During the investigation, Nguyen Quang Bich confessed that on July 25, 2017, he sold Do Quang Thanh 1 heroin cake for 200 million VND. This time, Tran Duy Tuong was the one who received the drugs for Thanh. Searching Thanh's residence, the police seized more than 1 gram of drugs.

On August 1, Tran Duy Tuong went to Nghe An police station to confess all his crimes.

At the trial, Nguyen Quang Bich did not admit his crime and said that during the investigation, he was forced to confess and was tortured, so he confessed. However, the documents and evidence collected by the court proved that Nguyen Quang Bich's accusations were baseless.

Considering the role and position of each defendant in the case, the panel sentenced Nguyen Quang Bich and Mai Dinh Phuoc to death. Defendant Nguyen Quang Thanh was sentenced to life in prison. Defendant Tran Duy Tuong received a 20-year prison sentence.

In this case, Le Ngoc Son was also identified as the person who directed Bich to receive and transport 10 kg of crystal meth to deliver to a subject named Tuan. After Bich was arrested, Son fled abroad. In mid-2018, Le Ngoc Son returned to Vietnam, committed a property destruction case and was summoned by Vinh City Police.

When the police came to the house to execute the order to detain Le Ngoc Son, the subject held a mine and a gas tank and barricaded himself in the house for 14 hours.but was arrested later. Currently, the Nghe An Provincial Police Investigation Agency has separated Le Ngoc Son's criminal behavior into a separate case for further investigation and handling.