Life sentence for drug trafficker of more than 6 kg

On the morning of February 27, the Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Nguyen Viet Hung (born 1985), residing in Dong Vinh ward, Vinh city, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

Previously, in 2014, while on a trip to Quang Binh, Hung accidentally met a Laotian man named Vu. During the conversation, the Laotian said he had drugs and if Hung knew anyone who was buying the “goods”, he should contact him.

Defendant Nguyen Viet Hung at the trial. Photo: Tran Vu

After that meeting, the two continued to contact each other. On July 17, 2018, Vu asked Hung to go to Huong Son district (Ha Tinh) to discuss drug trading. When they met, Vu said he would transfer 5-7 kg of drugs, each kg costing 200 million VND. Vu told Hung to try to prepare some money to get the drugs, and to pay the rest on credit.

On July 21, Vu continued to call Hung and ask if he wanted to take the drugs. Hung replied that he would, and then the two sides negotiated about the delivery and receipt of the goods.

The Laotian man then sent the “goods” via a bus running from Huong Son to Vinh City. That afternoon, while Hung was receiving the drugs, he was arrested by the authorities. The seized evidence was a carton containing 6 white plastic bags weighing 5,499 grams of methamphetamine and 1 package of methamphetamine weighing 993 grams of methamphetamine.

In court, Nguyen Viet Hung admitted to the crime as stated in the indictment. The defendant stated that he was addicted to drugs, so he bought them to use gradually and then sold them for profit. “I know I was wrong, I ask the jury to consider reducing my sentence so that I have a chance to start my life over and take care of my child,” the defendant said in court.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were extremely serious, dangerous to society, and involved drug trafficking in large quantities. The defendant’s recidivism was an aggravating circumstance. However, the fact that the defendant had helped authorities arrest two drug traffickers in another case and had saved a drowning person were mitigating circumstances. Considering the case as a whole, the panel of judges sentenced Nguyen Viet Hung to life in prison.

It is known that Nguyen Viet Hung had 2 previous convictions for organizing gambling and intentionally causing injury and had completed his sentence.