51 years in prison for those who disregard the law

(Baonghean) - All three defendants were drug addicts, two of whom had spent a long time in prison for drug trafficking. After completing their prison terms, they still refused to reform and continued to commit crimes and were appropriately punished by the law.

Truong Hong Phuong, residing in Nghia Lien commune (Nghia Dan), used to be one of the "big shots" in the local underworld. In 2006, Phuong was sentenced to 7 years in prison by the People's Court of Nghia Dan district for illegal drug trafficking. Perhaps the sentence was not enough to cure Phuong's "disease". After being released from prison, at around 11:00 a.m. on July 2, 2012, Phuong went to the house of Tran Ngoc Toan, also a drug addict, residing in Tan Hong block, Nghia Dan town, to meet Hoang Van The (also a prisoner released for illegal drug trafficking), residing in Tan Minh block, Nghia Dan town. A moment later, Toan appeared. Here, The asked Phuong: "Where have you been?". Phuong replied: "I work in wood in Que Phong district". The did not hesitate to ask: "Do you know anyone who sells drugs when you work in Que Phong?". Phuong answered yes. Like a thirsty man meeting a shower, The took out his wallet, took out 21 million VND, showed it on the table and said: "Take this, go up there and buy 2 "goods" and bring them back here to sell and we will split the money."

Defendants The, Phuong, Toan in the dock

Phuong received money from The and Toan gave Phuong a motorbike to use as a means of transportation to Que Phong district to buy "white goods". When reaching Nam Giai commune (Que Phong), Phuong hid the motorbike in the bushes by the roadside, walked into the forest to find "goods". Here, Phuong met an ethnic man named Xom (unknown address, hometown) and asked to buy heroin. This man agreed and sold Phuong a block of heroin worth 26.5 million VND. But Phuong only had 21.5 million VND in her pocket, Phuong asked Xom to let her pay on credit, come back next time to get more and pay in full. Xom agreed. Taking the "goods" and putting them in her bag, Phuong quickly turned around to get her motorbike and went straight to Nghia Dan district. When she arrived at Son Mai motel, located at the intersection of Ho Chi Minh road and National Highway 48, in Nghia Dan district, Phuong rented a room and called Toan. About 30 minutes later, Toan was at the motel to meet Phuong. At around 7am on July 3, 2012, upon receiving the news that the “goods” were available, The went to the Son Mai motel to meet Toan and Phuong. After breakfast, the three of them went to Toan’s house. There, The opened the heroin to look at it, then got on his motorbike to find a buyer. Phuong and Toan stayed home and were responsible for delivering the “goods” to the meeting point.

At around 10am on July 3, after finding a buyer, The called Phuong and Toan to urgently bring the "goods" down to sell... Immediately afterwards, both Phuong and Toan used motorbikes to go to the location that The had arranged, bringing heroin down to give to The. When they arrived at the border between Nhu Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province and Nghia Dan district, Nghe An province, Phuong and Toan met The waiting. The told Phuong and Toan to bring the "white goods" to turn into a crossroad, then go about 200m into Xam village, Nghia Lam commune (Nghia Dan) to wait for customers to sell, but were caught red-handed by Nghia Dan district police, who seized a package of white compressed powder weighing 67 grams from Phuong. When they discovered that Phuong and Toan had been arrested by the police, The immediately got on his motorbike and fled into the forest, but was surrounded and captured by the reconnaissance force in coordination with the police and local people.

Immediately afterwards, the district police leaders executed an emergency search warrant at Toan's residence, continuing to discover and seize at Toan's house a package of white powder wrapped in a cigarette pack hidden in the house. The forensic conclusion of the Provincial Police's Criminal Techniques Department determined: The white powder seized from Truong Hong Phuong and the white powder seized at Tran Ngoc Toan's house sent for forensic examination were both heroin. The Nghia Dan District Police Investigation Agency had sufficient grounds to initiate a case, prosecute the accused, and detain the accused Hoang Van The (born in 1963, residing in Tan Minh block, Nghia Dan town), Truong Hong Phuong (born in 1982, residing in Nghia Lien commune, Nghia Dan district) and Tran Ngoc Toan (born in 1971, residing in Tan Hong block, Nghia Dan town) for the crime of: "Illegal trading of narcotics". After completing the case file, the Investigation Police Agency transferred the case file and requested the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province to prosecute Hoang Van The, Truong Hong Phuong and Tran Ngoc Toan before the law for the above crimes.

At the end of October 2012, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a criminal trial, a first-instance trial for the defendants The, Phuong and Toan for illegal drug trafficking. Before deliberating, the presiding judge allowed the three defendants to have the last word, but Hoang Van The, Truong Hong Phuong and Tran Ngoc Toan all requested to consider reducing their sentences so that they could return to rebuild their lives and truly be useful citizens to society. After 40 minutes of deliberation, the presiding judge sentenced the defendants Hoang Van The, Truong Hong Phuong and Tran Ngoc Toan - each defendant to 17 years in prison. Thus, the total sentence for the three defendants is 51 years in prison. This is a lesson for those who disregard the law and have a loose lifestyle.

Huu Trong