27 years in prison for two individuals involved in illegal drug trafficking.

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of January 14th, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial to hear the case of illegal drug trafficking against Vi Van La and Luong Van Quoc.

According to the indictment of the Provincial People's Procuracy, although they did not know each other, a man named Hai approached Vi Van La (born in 1977, residing in Canh village, Nga My commune, Tuong Duong district) and instructed La on how to transport drugs to Quy Hop to make a profit. On July 18, 2013, Hai called La and asked him to buy drugs to sell to Hai. Having the money from selling a cow for 12 million dong and pawning several gold rings for 8 million dong, La agreed to buy drugs to sell to Hai.

On the morning of July 23, 2013, La went to the house of Luong Van Quoc (born in 1971, residing in Xop Chang village, Yen Hoa commune, Tuong Duong district) and asked Quoc to contribute money to buy drugs, with profits to be shared. Quoc agreed to contribute 10 million dong. The two went into the forest and met two Laotians, buying 1.4 "sticks" of heroin for 28 million dong. They brought the drugs back to Quoc's house. A man named Hai then called La, asking if she had bought the heroin yet. If so, he asked her to bring it to Binh Chuan commune (Con Cuong district) for delivery at a price of 22 million dong per "stick". However, upon arriving at the location, Hai said he didn't have the money and suggested La go with him to Chau Thai commune (Quy Hop district), where he would raise the price to 35 million dong per "stick". In Binh Chuan, Hai led La to a secluded road to meet the buyer, but they were caught red-handed by the police. Taking advantage of the chaos, the man named Hai quickly escaped.

Vi Van La (right) and Luong Van Quoc at the court.

At the trial, Vi Van La and Luong Van Quoc confessed honestly and showed remorse. The judging panel noted that the two defendants were ethnic minorities with limited education, and their families had contributed to the revolution, thus entitling them to mitigating circumstances. Therefore, they sentenced Vi Van La to 14 years in prison and Luong Van Quoc to 13 years in prison.

Khang Hoa