Karaoke bar owner sentenced to death for transporting drugs for hire

Thanh agreed to transport 4 cakes of heroin from Son La to Hanoi by truck for 10 million VND but received the highest sentence, making his wife and children cry.

According to the first instance verdict on September 6 of the Hanoi People's Court, on the morning of January 18, Le Tien Thanh (44 years old, in Hoang Mai district) went to Moc Chau (Son La) to find a location to rent a store to open a clothing store.

Defendant Thanh at trial. Photo: Viet Dung.

After two days in the mountainous district without finding a place to rent, at noon on January 20, Thanh got in his car and left Moc Chau for 10 km before stopping to buy a peach branch from an ethnic person on the roadside. There, a man around 40 years old approached him and hired Thanh to transport 4 heroin cakes to Hanoi for 10 million VND.

Thanh agreed to let a stranger hide drugs in the trunk of his car. When driving to the An Phu gas station (My Duc district, Hanoi), Thanh was checked by the joint force and caught red-handed with 4 cakes of heroin in the car.

Authorities searched Thanh's residence and karaoke bar and seized an electronic scale with crystal meth on its surface and two plastic bags also contaminated with this drug.

Because there were no clues about the address or name of the person who hired Thanh to transport drugs, the investigation agency could not prosecute this person.

The court sentenced Thanh to death for illegally transporting narcotics. After receiving the maximum sentence, Thanh tried to stay calm, while his wife, children and many of his relatives cried. His wife fainted in the middle of the court yard, while the van was taking Thanh to the detention camp.

According to vnexpress