Drug dealer sentenced to 15 years in prison

On the morning of May 15, the Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Lau Ba Po (born 1992), residing in Nam Can commune, Ky Son district, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

Defendant at trial. Photo: Tran Vu

The case file shows that on January 29, 2019, Po brought 2,400 Lao kip (equivalent to 6.6 million VND) across the border to Laos, met a local man and asked to buy 3 packages of pink phien. The Lao man quoted 800,000 kip per package. Po agreed and the two parties made the transaction. Afterwards, Lau Ba Po took the 3 packages of drugs home to hide and use.

On February 7, at 10 p.m., Po was walking in the village when he met two men who asked to buy drugs. Po took out individual pink pills and sold them to the buyers. After that, Po put the bags containing drugs in his pants pocket with the intention of "selling to whoever he met". When he reached the 3-way intersection, the road to Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune, Po was checked and arrested by the Nam Can International Border Guard Station. The seized evidence was three packages of drugs weighing 42.18 grams of Methamphetamine.

In court, the defendant confessed his crimes. Lau Ba Po said he had been addicted to drugs since late 2018. "I know I was wrong, I ask the court to reduce my sentence so I can return to my children soon," Po said his final words before the jury deliberated. Lau Ba Po was sentenced to 15 years in prison.