Surprised by the reason why the man revealed the 'batch' of drugs hidden in his house

The trial of defendant Ngo Duc Thanh (54 years old, residing in Vinh City) on the morning of December 22 took place quickly as the defendant showed sincerity in his testimony. Thanh was prosecuted by the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province for the crime of "Illegal trading of narcotics".

On the morning of June 28, Thanh went out to have breakfast with some friends. On his way home, he was stopped by Vinh City Police and taken to the headquarters for a drug test. The results showed that Thanh's urine sample contained drugs.

Ngo Duc Thanh admitted that he had previously used drugs and confessed that he was hiding many other packages of drugs at home.

From Thanh's confession, Vinh City Police conducted an emergency search of the man's house and seized 23 packages of pink heroin and 3 packages of other drugs along with 2 small scales.

Thanh said that after a long time working in coffee shops in the South, he had saved up some capital and decided to return to his hometown. In May 2021, introduced by an acquaintance, Thanh went to Que Phong and bought 30 packages of pink phien from a Mong man of unknown origin for 60 million VND to "start a business". Because Thanh was new, the seller reduced the price by 2 million VND and also gave Thanh 3 packages of crystal meth and heroin as samples to introduce to customers.

Thanh brought the drugs home to divide, hid them in speakers and ventilation windows, and waited to find customers to sell them to. From 2021 until the time of his confession, Thanh had not sold them to anyone, but the amount of drugs had also decreased because he took them out for his own use.

“At that time, the defendant was raising a 3-month-old child. Feeling tired and stressed, he started using drugs,” defendant Thanh stated.

According to his family, Thanh had been through three marriages, but they all ended abruptly. His first wife had a child with him, but they went their separate ways. Thanh married his second wife and had two children together, but the marriage also had irreparable cracks. During his separation from his second wife, Thanh lived with a girl much younger than him. When she gave birth, she showed signs of depression, so Thanh gave the child to her to raise.

- What was the reason the defendant confessed to the police about the drugs hidden in the house? - The judge asked.

- The defendant was afraid that using drugs for a long time would cause addiction, so he confessed to the police to confiscate them - Ngo Duc Thanh replied.

- The defendant is not addicted to drugs? - The judge continued to ask.

- Yes, the defendant used drugs but was not addicted.

- How long have you been using drugs? How much do you use each day?

- From the time he bought drugs to sell, the defendant also started using drugs. Every day, the defendant used 4-5 pills of drugs.

- How many packets of drugs did the defendant use?

- The defendant used 7 packages of drugs, each package had 200 pills. The defendant only used drugs, not addicted.

- The defendant stated that he bought drugs to sell for profit, so has the defendant sold drugs to anyone?

- Your Honor, the defendant has not sold it to anyone.

- So how does the defendant explain the two small scales seized in the house?

- The defendant bought the scale to... weigh powdered milk for his child - defendant Thanh answered..

Ngo Duc Thanh said he was aware that the illegal buying, selling and using of drugs was a violation of the law. However, he hoped the council would consider his sincerity and the lack of consequences when sentencing him.

“The defendant has an elderly mother and young children to take care of. I hope the jury will consider giving me the lightest sentence possible so that I can return home soon and become a good citizen, useful to society,” defendant Thanh said in his final words before the jury deliberated.

While waiting for the verdict, Thanh's elderly mother begged the police officers to allow her to speak to her son for a few words. When they agreed, she sat in the first row of spectators, trying to reach up to speak to her son.

“Try to reform yourself so you can come back soon. I’m old and don’t know how much longer I can go. She’s a good girl, don’t worry about anything,” Thanh’s mother tried to hold back her tears to encourage her son.

Thanh told his mother to take care of her health and promised to try to reform well so that he could be released from prison soon, return to take care of his mother and his daughter who was just over 3 years old.

Considering the entire case and mitigating circumstances, the first instance trial panel sentenced defendant Ngo Duc Thanh to 16 years in prison.