35 years in prison for a group involved in drug trafficking.
(Baonghean.vn) - On January 29, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court held a first-instance criminal trial to hear the case against Mai Van Vinh and his accomplices for the crime of "Illegal trafficking of narcotics." The panel of judges sentenced the three defendants to a total of 35 years in prison for the crime of "Illegal trafficking of narcotics."
According to the indictment, Mai Van Vinh (born in 1996, residing in Dien Hong commune, Dien Chau district) had previously traded scrap metal in Laos and therefore knew about drug trafficking. Around the beginning of August 2017, Vinh took 40 million VND to Laos to buy 7 packets of methamphetamine to bring back to Vietnam for resale.
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| From right to left: Mai Van Vinh, Nguyen Dinh Hieu, and Mai Van Dung at the trial. Photo: Nhu Binh. |
Vịnh brought the drugs home to hide them, then called Mai Văn Dũng (born 1995, residing in Diễn Hồng commune, Diễn Châu district) to find buyers. Dũng knew Nguyễn Đình Hiếu (born 1964, residing in Diễn Hồng commune) was a drug addict with extensive connections, so he asked Hiếu to find someone to buy them from.
Through Hieu, Dung and Vinh met a man named Hoang (whose identity and background are unknown) to discuss and finalize the drug transaction. They agreed on 84 million VND for 7 packages of methamphetamine (weighing over 153g).
On the evening of September 5, 2017, as arranged, Vinh and Dung went to the Dong Hoi intersection with National Highway 1 (Quynh Thien Ward, Hoang Mai Town) to meet Hoang to exchange drugs, but they were discovered and arrested by the police. Taking advantage of a lapse in security, Hoang escaped.
Based on the testimonies of Vinh and Dung, the police arrested Nguyen Dinh Hieu.
At the trial, the defendants admitted their crimes. Based on the roles of each defendant in the case, the court sentenced Mai Van Vinh to 15 years in prison, Mai Van Dung to 11 years in prison, and Nguyen Dinh Hieu to 9 years in prison for the crime of "illegally trading in narcotics".
