Death sentence for 2 Lao men transporting more than 12 kg of drugs

On the morning of November 16, the People's Court of Nghe An province brought two defendants Ha Ra Tenh (born in 1976) and Xenh Ha (born in 1992), both residing in Kham Cot district, Bolykhamxay province, Laos, to the first instance trial for the crime of "Illegal transportation of drugs".

Defendants Ha Ra Tenh and Xenh Ha. Photo: Quynh An

According to the indictment, on June 19, Tenh was hired by a man named Xu (Laotian) to transport drugs from the central town of Huong Son district (Ha Tinh) to Do Luong town, and would be paid 2,500 USD when the job was completed.

That same afternoon, Xu also called Xenh Ha (also known as Ha Ba Xenh) to hire him to go to Vietnam to deliver drugs and would pay 2,000,000 Lao kip, and Xenh Ha agreed.

At about 9:50 p.m. on June 21, when Tenh was driving a motorbike with license plate 38F5 - 7068 carrying Xenh Ha and a backpack containing 3 heroin cakes and 120 plastic bags containing synthetic drugs to Thanh Dong commune, Thanh Chuong district, he was caught red-handed by the police.

Through examination, it was concluded that the backpacks that Tenh and Xenh Ha carried contained 1.053 kg of heroin and 11.080 kg of synthetic drugs.

The panel of judges determined that the actions of Tenh and Xenh Ha were especially serious and dangerous to society and needed to be strictly dealt with before the law, so they sentenced the two defendants to death.