Caught red-handed hiding drugs in potato chip wrappers at a landfill

(Baonghean.vn) - After collecting the goods, Le Van Thanh hid the heroin in a bag of chips next to a pile of trash. When he arranged a location for the drug transaction, Thanh brought the heroin but was discovered and arrested by the authorities.

On the morning of January 5, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial to try the case of "Illegal drug trafficking" against Le Van Thanh (born in 1987), residing in Huong Khe town, Huong Khe district, Ha Tinh.

Defendant Le Van Thanh must serve a 15-year prison sentence.

According to the indictment, on March 15, 2016, Le Van Thanh received an order from a subject named Hanh for a quantity of crystal meth and 1,000 synthetic drug pills for 60 million VND. Thanh found a sales source and invited a friend to go with him to Vinh City to receive the drugs. When he had the goods in hand, Thanh told his friend to put the drugs in a bag of chips lying next to a pile of trash on the side of the road to avoid the attention of the authorities.

Receiving a phone call from Hanh to arrange a transaction location, Thanh took the above drugs to a hotel in Trung Do ward, Vinh city, where he was discovered and arrested by the Anti-drug Crime Task Force No. 2, Coast Guard. During an urgent search of Thanh's house, the authorities seized another package of crystal meth and 35 synthetic drug pills.

The forensic results of the Criminal Technical Department showed that the total weight of drugs seized from Thanh was more than 190g.

In 2009, Le Van Thanh was sentenced by the People's Court of Thua Thien Hue province to 3 years in prison for "Illegal transportation of narcotics". In 2012, Thanh was sentenced by the People's Court of Thua Thien Hue to 12 months in prison for "Abuse of trust to appropriate property".

After Thanh was arrested by the Coast Guard, the investigation agency discovered that he was involved in a case of illegal possession of drugs and was sentenced to 36 months in prison at the trial on April 5, 2016, at the Vinh City People's Court.

At the trial, Le Van Thanh confessed his crime. Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Le Van Thanh to 12 years in prison for “Illegal drug trafficking”. Combined with the 3-year prison sentence of the Vinh City People’s Court that has not yet been executed, Le Van Thanh must serve a 15-year prison sentence.

Nhu Binh