Lao man sentenced to death for trafficking nearly 5kg of drugs

On March 20, the Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of Va Nhia Ly (born 1992, residing in Sam To district, Hua Phan province, Lao PDR) for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

According to the indictment of the provincial People's Procuracy, in July 2018, through an acquaintance named Bac, Ly agreed to buy and sell drugs with a man named Tam. Afterwards, a man named Nam, claiming to be Bac's friend, called Ly and asked to buy 10 heroin cakes and 1 kg of crystal meth. The two sides agreed on a price of 5,000 USD for each heroin cake.

Defendant Va Nhia Ly. Photo: Nhu Binh

Ly contacted a man named Ly No De (Lao nationality) to buy drugs and then together with De brought the drugs to Vietnam to deliver to the customer. On September 5, 2018, both of them brought drugs to Vietnam, hid them in a bush on Bu Bai slope (in Chau Hanh commune, Quy Chau district), and made an appointment for the customer to deliver the goods the next afternoon.

At about 1:00 p.m. on September 6, 2018, a man named Nam went to Bu Bai slope to meet Ly and De to trade drugs. Nam and Va Nhia Ly sat in the car to count the money while De and the man who went with Nam went to the area where the drugs were hidden to get the goods. When De had just brought the bag of drugs to the car park, he was discovered by the police. Ly No De threw away the drugs and ran into the forest with the other man.

Knowing that he was exposed, Va Nhia Ly kicked the back door of the car to escape but was arrested by the police. A man named Nam took advantage of the chaos and also fled the scene. The police seized 10 heroin cakes weighing nearly 3.5 kg and nearly 1 kg of crystal meth.

The panel of judges determined that, based on the record of the arrest of the offender in the act, the defendant's self-confession, the recorded and videotaped testimony of the defendant during the investigation; the questioning and public debate at the trial, the Provincial People's Procuracy prosecuted Va Nhia Ly for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking" and was the right person for the right crime.

Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Va Nhia Ly to death.