Caught red-handed trafficking drugs, husband abandons wife to run away

On July 27, 2022, the People's Court of Nghe An province brought defendant Gia Y Dua (born in 1983), residing in Mai Son commune, Tuong Duong district, Nghe An province, to the first instance trial for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking”.

Gia Y Dua at the trial. Photo: An Quynh

Previously, at around 10:00 p.m. on December 28, 2021, Gia Y Dua came home from a trip and saw her husband, Tho Ba Gia, talking with two Lao men in the living room.

A moment later, Tho Ba Gia went down to the kitchen to meet his wife, holding a black plastic bag containing two packages of drugs. He said that the plastic bag was given to him by two Lao people and invited his wife to go with him to deliver it to a man in Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district. Not daring to disobey her husband, Gia Y Dua agreed.

At around 1 a.m. on December 29, 2021, Tho Ba Gia drove his wife to the meeting point in Mai Son commune, Tuong Duong district. Upon arrival, Gia told his wife to look after the drugs while he drove to meet the buyer. After the agreement was reached, Tho Ba Gia immediately returned to pick up his wife.

The subjects were transacting when they were discovered by the Ky Son district working group. The man who bought the goods and Tho Ba Gia immediately ran away, while Gia Y Dua was arrested.

The results of the examination showed that 1 plastic bag collected at the scene contained 59 bags of potylene weighing 1,159 grams of methamphetamine.

At the trial, Dua initially denied the charges and the actions in the indictment. According to Gia Y Dua, all of this was masterminded by her husband, Tho Ba Gia. However, after the struggle, Dua admitted to all of her crimes.

The prosecutor proposed a 20-year prison sentence for Gia Y Dua for the above crime.

For Tho Ba Gia as well as the drug buyer, after many times of issuing wanted notices, they are currently not found in the locality. Therefore, there is not enough evidence to handle Tho Ba Gia.

The panel of judges determined: Gia Y Dua knew it was drugs but still voluntarily followed her husband to trade. That is an act that needs to be severely punished to set an example for the villagers. Therefore, based on the circumstances, the panel of judges sentenced Gia Y Dua to 20 years in prison.