Having invested over half a billion dong in drug trafficking, two friends receive life sentences.
Nguyen Ngoc Ty and Nguyen The Anh were not only friends but had also been imprisoned multiple times for drug-related offenses. Despite this, both relapsed. This time, Ty spent over half a billion dong on drug trafficking and persuaded his close friend to join him.
On July 26, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court held a first-instance trial to hear the case against defendants Nguyen Ngoc Ty (born in 1996), residing in Cua Nam Ward, Vinh City, and Nguyen The Anh (born in 1996), residing in Le Loi Ward, Vinh City, for the crime of "illegally trading narcotics".
Both defendants have a bad criminal record, having served multiple prison sentences. Tý has been imprisoned twice for drug-related offenses, while Thế Anh has also been imprisoned three times.
According to the indictment, in 2019, while serving his sentence at Detention Center No. 6 – Ministry of Public Security, Ty met and befriended a Laotian man named Cu. They agreed to contact each other after their release from prison to buy and sell drugs.
On April 1, 2023, Ty called Cu to order 3 kg of Ketamine for 550 million VND. He paid the money and agreed to deliver the drugs two days later.
After reaching an agreement, Ty called The Anh and Nguyen Hong Quan (born in 1995, residing in Vinh City) and invited them to come along to help carry the drugs back for sale.
As arranged, on the evening of April 3, 2023, the three met at a gas station and then set off for the Cau Treo border gate area (Ha Tinh province). There, Ty went to the meeting point to receive the drugs, while Quan and The Anh stayed by the roadside.
After receiving 3 kg of drugs, Ty gave them to The Anh to hold. A short while later, The Anh gave the drugs to Quan to transport, and then each of them drove away in a separate vehicle. During the journey, The Anh and Quan took turns transporting the drugs.
At 11:30 PM on the same day, when the suspects reached the DH16 flood bypass road (in Trung Phuc Cuong commune, Nam Dan district), they were discovered by the Nghe An anti-drug task force.
At this point, The Anh threw the drugs into the rice field and attempted to escape with his accomplices. However, Nguyen The Anh and Nguyen Ngoc Ty were arrested, while Nguyen Hong Quan managed to flee and is currently wanted.
At the trial, both defendants admitted to the crime. Defendant Tý confessed to spending 550 million VND to buy and sell drugs for profit. Defendant Anh confessed that he participated in transporting drugs to Nghe An province at the invitation of a friend.
The panel of judges determined that in this case, the mastermind was defendant Tý, while Thế Anh was an active participant, so both played equal roles. The defendants' actions were dangerous to society and therefore needed to be severely punished. However, some mitigating circumstances such as honest confession and remorse should also be considered.
After considering all aspects of the case, the panel of judges sentenced Nguyen Ngoc Ty and Nguyen The Anh to life imprisonment.
