Drug addict travels more than 700 km from Quang Nam to Nghe An to buy drugs

On September 20, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a criminal trial of defendant Truong Van Thinh (born 1988), from Thai Nguyen province, residing in Kham Duc town, Phuoc Son district, Quang Nam province, for the crime of "Illegal possession of narcotics".

This is the second time Thinh has appeared in court. In April 2019, Thinh was sentenced to 18 months in prison for "Theft of property".

After being released from prison, Thinh went to Quang Nam province to work as a gold miner. Because he wanted to buy drugs to use, on the evening of March 23, 2022, Thinh took a bus to Nghe An, looking for a mountainous area.

Defendant Truong Van Thinh was imprisoned for the second time with an 18-year sentence. Photo: Tran Vu

On the afternoon of March 24, Thinh went to Pa Khom village, Tri Le commune, Que Phong district and met a man so he asked to buy drugs. This man said he had "goods" so Thinh gave him 40 million VND to place an order. After receiving the money, the seller gave Thinh the drugs.

After purchasing the “goods,” Thinh hired a man to take him to the bus stop to return to Quang Nam. However, on the way, Truong Van Thinh was arrested by the police with more than 190 grams of drugs.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime. Thinh said that because he was a long-term drug addict, he went to Nghe An to buy drugs, with the intention of using them, not selling them. The defendant presented his difficult circumstances, having lost his father and his mother, to ask for a lighter sentence.

The jury found the defendant's criminal behavior dangerous. In this case, the defendant's crime was a case of recidivism, which is an aggravating circumstance.

Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced defendant Truong Van Thinh to 18 years in prison for "Illegal possession of narcotics"./.