The bitter end of the former Deputy Chief of Commune Police who trafficked drugs

Defendant Vi Van May (born in 1980) is quite fair-skinned and plump compared to the time of his arrest. May's beautiful wife was also present in the courtroom, her 11-year-old daughter was busy with school so she couldn't come down, or maybe May's wife didn't want her daughter to witness her father being handcuffed and taken away by the police.

May’s wife leaned forward, handing over the phone with the latest photo of her daughter so that May could see it more clearly. May squinted to see, a smile forming on her face when she saw her tall, pretty daughter in the photo. But the joy only flashed for a moment before fading away in May’s eyes.

May used to have a happy family, a life that was not necessarily full but was the dream of many people here. That was the story of nearly 10 years ago. Now, May is facing a severe sentence from the law.

Defendant Vi Van May at the trial. Photo: Nhu Binh

In 2011 - when the drug trafficking case led by Lu Thi Minh (born in 1984, residing in Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong) was discovered by the provincial police, May was one of the leaders of the fight against drugs here.

“I didn’t know that Ms. Det (Vi Thi Det - a link in this drug ring) asked me to take her to get drugs. Ms. Det is a distant relative, living in the same village,” May still tried to justify her crime.

May served in the army for a while. Here, thanks to his training and hard work, Vi Van May was recognized as an advanced soldier. After his military service, May returned to participate in local community activities.

Thanks to his enthusiasm and dynamism, May gradually gained trust and was assigned the position of Deputy Chief of Commune Police - one of the main characters in the fight against drugs in this place known as the drug capital.

Only when the drug ring led by Lu Thi Minh was dismantled on April 30, 2011, and the investigation agency identified Vi Van May as one of the links, was the secret about this Deputy Chief of Commune Police revealed.

At the time of discovery and arrest, Lu Thi Minh and her younger brother Lu Cao Thuong (born in 1986) had 3 heroin cakes and 70 million VND in cash on them. Minh stated that she bought the drugs from Vi Thi Det (born in 1982, residing in Luong Minh commune) and Vi Van May.

When Vi Thi Det was arrested, Vi Van May had already fled the area. The Nghe An Provincial Police Department issued a nationwide wanted notice for Vi Van May.

In 2012, the People’s Court of Nghe An Province brought the case to trial and sentenced Lu Thi Minh to death, while the defendants Lu Cao Thuong and Vi Thi Det were sentenced to life in prison. Later, Lu Thi Minh’s sentence was commuted to life in prison. While the other members of this drug trafficking ring were “settled” in prison, Vi Van May was still “missing” without a trace.

Illustration.

In fact, Vi Van May did not go too far. “When Ms. Det was arrested, I was scared so I hid in the forest. I was very familiar with the area, I stayed in one place for a while and then moved to another place but only stayed around the forests near my house. Sometimes I thought about how I could hide for the rest of my life, but I was scared to turn myself in,” May confided. On December 3, 2017, Vi Van May turned himself in to the police, ready to accept the punishment of the law, ending his nearly 7 years of hiding.

In court, although he acknowledged that the indictment of the Nghe An Provincial People's Procuracy charging him with "illegal drug trafficking" as an accomplice was correct, Vi Van May still claimed that he was guilty of concealing a criminal.

“The defendant did not know that Det asked him to take her to get drugs, nor did he participate in the exchange or discussion with Vi Thi Det and the people who sold drugs to Det. The defendant also did not benefit from this,” Vi Van May affirmed more than twice at the trial.

However, the investigation results and statements of those involved show that when Vi Thi Det received 21,900 USD to buy 3 heroin cakes from Lu Thi Minh, Vi Van May was the one who directly counted this amount.

Vi Van May was also paid 1 million VND by Lu Thi Minh and promised to pay 2 million more if he could buy heroin for Minh. After that, May, Det and another person went into the forest to meet their partner and received 3 heroin cakes to bring back to deliver to Minh. Thus, there is enough basis to confirm that Vi Van May knew about the drug trafficking and benefited from this trafficking. May committed the crime as an accomplice.

Considering that the defendant is an ethnic minority, has served in the military and has many achievements that have been commended by various levels... The panel sentenced Vi Van May to 20 years in prison, lower than the life sentence proposed by the representative of the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province.