Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for selling cattle to traffic 'white goods'

From addiction to drug trafficking

Nguyen Van Cong (born in 1982), residing in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district, is the eldest child in a family of 3 siblings. His education level is only 2/12, so when he grew up, Cong mainly did manual work in his hometown. In his youth, this young man once stumbled when he was sentenced by the People's Court of Thanh Chuong district to 9 months in prison with a suspended sentence for theft of property in 2008.

After that stumble, the man decided to start his life over. After marrying a woman 2 years younger than him, Cong showed his enthusiasm for business when he and his wife worked hard to raise 3 children. In addition to farming, Cong and his wife also raised livestock to earn more income. In addition, in his spare time, this man also did other jobs such as cutting acacia trees for hire or hunting animals in the forest.

From the times he went into the forest area bordering Vietnam - Laos to hunt animals, Cong got to know a Laotian man named Long. Knowing that this man had drugs, Cong asked for his phone number to contact him.

The case file shows that at the end of April 2024, Nguyen Van Cong called Long to ask to buy 24 million VND worth of drugs. A few days later, Cong rode a motorbike, then walked to the Khe Kho area, near the Vietnam - Laos border to buy the "goods".

Here, Cong handed over 24 million VND to Long. After receiving the money, through the walkie-talkie, Long instructed another person to bring drugs to Cong. Cong took the drugs home to hide. To avoid detection by the police, this man hid the drugs in many places such as the kitchen, even stuffed the drugs into the charcoal stove.

Because of his drug addiction, Cong also took some drugs and took them to Quoc Mau Palace, Vo Liet Commune, Thanh Chuong District to use. Before leaving, he also brought some drugs with him, intending to sell them to customers. However, when Cong had just finished using the drugs and had not yet sold the "goods" to customers, the police force raided and arrested him with more than 90 grams of drugs as evidence.

During an emergency search of the suspect’s home, the police discovered more than 30 grams of drugs. Thus, the total amount of drugs for which Nguyen Van Cong must bear criminal responsibility in this case is more than 121 grams.

Wife silently sees husband off to prison

With the above behavior, Nguyen Van Cong was prosecuted and brought to trial for the crime of illegal drug trafficking. At the new trial held at the Provincial Court, the defendant admitted to the crime as charged in the indictment. The defendant stated that due to addiction, he bought drugs to use gradually and sell for profit.

When asked by the court why he went to a spiritual place to use drugs, the defendant said he was afraid that if he used drugs at home, his wife and children would find out. “I was afraid that my family would be sad if they found out I was using drugs,” the defendant stated.

Regarding the money used for drug trafficking, the defendant stated that it came from selling livestock. The defendant secretly took a sum of money from the sale of livestock from the couple to buy drugs. Regarding the money confiscated by the authorities during the house search, the defendant asked the court to consider returning it because it was not related to the defendant's criminal behavior. The defendant also asked the court to return the motorbike that he took from his wife to buy drugs. The reason given by Cong was that his wife was completely unaware of his actions.

Attending the trial, the defendant's wife sat quietly. When she heard her husband's testimony, her eyes suddenly turned red. She was saddened by her husband's violation of the law, and even more heartbroken when the man she had been living with for many years used the couple's savings to commit the crime. This woman presented her difficult circumstances, currently raising 3 young children, including a 2-year-old, to ask the court to consider reducing her husband's sentence. She also asked the panel of judges to consider returning her motorbike that her husband had used to trade drugs.

When the court entered the session to deliberate, the woman could not help but choke up. She only had time to turn around and ask and encourage her husband a few words. Accordingly, the young Justice asked his wife about the children's situation and apologized to his relatives. The defendant also did not forget to ask his wife to take care of the children on his behalf. The conversation between the couple was interrupted when the panel of judges returned to work and announced the verdict.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions violated the law. The defendant’s honest confession and remorse were mitigating factors. Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Nguyen Van Cong to 20 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.

Her husband was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and his emaciated wife ran after him in tears… She tried to get closer to her husband but was stopped by the police. Helpless, the woman quietly left the court. Because back home, her young children were waiting for their mother…