Addicts take turns going to hotels to trade 'white goods'

Although he is a healthy young man with strong shoulders, Nguyen Tai Trung (born in 1989), residing in Thu Thuy ward, Cua Lo town, did not choose the path of honest business, but instead got involved in drugs. In 2012, Trung was arrested by the police force in Vinh city with drugs as evidence.

After that mistake, Trung still could not break up with the “brown fairy”. On the contrary, this young man also bought drugs in large quantities to use gradually. According to the investigation agency’s documents, around mid-August 2019, from a previous relationship, Trung called a man named Hieu (born in 1991, residing in Tan Lac town, Quy Chau district) to buy 10 packages of pink phien for 38 million VND. Hieu agreed and asked Trung to lend him 30 million VND in advance.

At around 3am on August 13, Trung continued to call Hieu and asked, “Do you have the drugs yet?”. Hieu informed him that he had the “goods” and made an appointment to go to a hotel in Vinh City to pick them up. Upon receiving the news, Trung took a taxi from his house to the hotel to receive the drugs and then brought them home to hide.

Defendant at trial. Photo: Tran Vu

At around 8am the same day, Trung continued to call Hieu to ask if there was any crystal meth. Hieu answered “yes” so Trung ordered another 30 million VND worth of drugs. Just like the previous time, the two made an appointment to pick up the “goods” at a hotel. However, the subjects were careful when choosing another hotel in Vinh City for the transaction. At the meeting point, the transaction took place between the seller and the buyer. Trung gave Hieu 30 million VND and took back 3 packages of drugs. Nguyen Tai Trung also put the drugs in a personal leather bag and took them home.

At 4 p.m. the same day, Trung borrowed a friend's motorbike to go home and get 5 packages of pink pills, put them in a glasses case and put them in a leather bag. Then, Trung took the remaining drugs (5 packages of drugs) and 1 plastic bag of crystal meth, put them in a paper box and put them in the trunk of his motorbike. Then, Trung drove his motorbike from Cua Lo to Nghi Lam commune, Nghi Loc district, and went to a karaoke bar there.

At the karaoke bar, Nguyen Tai Trung was checked by the authorities. When searched, Trung confessed that he bought the drugs for his own use, and also confessed that he kept the drugs in the trunk of his motorbike. Based on Trung's statement, the authorities conducted a search and seized the drugs that he had hidden. The seized evidence was drugs in the form of pink tablets weighing 185.300g; a sample of white crystalline substance weighing 63.400g; and more than 68g of heroin.

At the first instance criminal trial of Nguyen Tai Trung for “Illegal possession of narcotics”, the defendant admitted to the crime as charged in the indictment. Trung stated that he bought the “goods” for use because he was addicted to drugs. Regarding the money used to buy the banned substances, the defendant stated that it was from his savings. The defendant expressed remorse for his actions and asked for a lighter sentence to start his life over.

The representative of the People's Procuracy participating in the proceedings said that the defendant's act of "Illegal possession of narcotics" is a violation of the law, dangerous to society, so a strict penalty is needed. However, it is also necessary to consider some mitigating circumstances of the defendant's sentence, such as the defendant's father is a war invalid who has contributed to the revolution. From the above analysis, the People's Procuracy proposed a sentence of 16 to 17 years in prison for Nguyen Tai Trung.

However, after the deliberation, the People's Court sentenced Nguyen Tai Trung to 18 years in prison for "Illegal possession of narcotics" (higher than the level recommended by the Procuracy). As for the motorbike that Trung used to commit the crime, because the defendant borrowed it from someone else, this person did not know what Trung was doing, so the authorities returned it to the owner.