The secret in the boxes of cocoa and honey sent from the South to the North
While transporting two boxes of firecrackers, Dang Ngoc Huong lied that they were actually boxes of honey and cocoa beans. Unexpectedly, the shipment was stopped by the authorities as soon as it arrived at the “dock”.
On July 15, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial of three defendants: Dang Ngoc Huong (born in 1989, residing in Chu Prong commune, Gia Lai province) and Nguyen Dinh Truong (born in 1995, residing in Trung Loc commune, Nghe An) for the crime of "Trading in prohibited goods"; Pham Thanh Lam (born in 1986, residing in Duc Co commune, Gia Lai province) for the crime of "Storing and transporting prohibited goods".
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According to the case, around December 2024, Nguyen Dinh Truong wanted to find a supplier of fireworks to buy and sell for profit. Through an acquaintance, Truong got Dang Ngoc Huong's phone number to contact to buy fireworks. After that, Truong contacted Huong and was told that there were no fireworks at that time.
In early January 2025, Truong called Huong back and was told that she had received the money, so Truong asked Huong to send him her account number to transfer the money. Through another person's account, Truong transferred 19.5 million VND to Huong to order 36 explosive fireworks at 650,000 VND/block.
On January 4, 2025, Huong transported two sealed cardboard boxes containing fireworks to a friend's house in Nghe An to deliver. Huong said these were two boxes containing honey and cocoa beans.
At about 5:45 a.m. on January 5, 2025, Nguyen Dinh Truong drove his motorbike to the Nghi Long Commune gate, Nghi Loc District (old) to get some incense firecrackers to send home. However, while carrying two cardboard boxes home, Truong was discovered and caught red-handed by the working group of the Criminal Police Department of Nghe An Province Police. The police determined that the total weight of the two cardboard boxes seized from Nguyen Dinh Truong was 33.3 kg.
On January 6, the police agency urgently searched Dang Ngoc Huong's residence and seized 3 blocks of explosive firecrackers weighing 10.83 kg and 2 blocks of explosive firecrackers weighing 11.88 kg. When the police agency searched Huong's house, on the same day, Pham Thanh Lam turned himself in and confessed to storing and transporting explosive firecrackers, and handed over 1 bag of solid carcasses containing 6 cylindrical explosive firecrackers weighing 5.71 kg; 1 cardboard box containing 18 blocks of explosive firecrackers weighing 31.16 kg in total. The Nghe An Provincial Police Department's Investigation Police Agency has arrested Dang Ngoc Huong in an emergency.
At the trial, defendant Huong gave a evasive statement, denied the crime and did not admit to the crime. Huong said that she herself did not directly send the goods and that her purpose was only to send defense fireworks, not explosive fireworks... However, in the face of documentary evidence during the investigation and the cross-examination of the other defendants' statements at the trial, defendant Huong admitted to the crime.
Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Dang Ngoc Huong to 15 months in prison for “Trafficking in prohibited goods”. In addition, Huong must serve the sentence of the previous sentence of 3 years in prison with a suspended sentence, a probationary period of 5 years for the crime of “Transporting prohibited goods”. The total sentence of the two sentences that Huong must serve is 4 years and 3 months in prison. Defendant Nguyen Dinh Truong was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the crime of “Trafficking in prohibited goods”.
Defendant Pham Thanh Lam was sentenced to 15 months in prison with a suspended sentence, probation period of 30 months for the crime of "Storing and transporting prohibited goods".
