'Carrying' 2 criminal records but still trafficking drugs, receiving heavy sentence

On the morning of May 16, the Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Lang Van Tuan (born 1982), residing in Cam Muoi commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

Tuan had two previous convictions for "Theft of property" and "Illegal possession of drugs".

According to the indictment, around mid-November 2018, Lang Van Tuan was working in Hanoi when a woman named Hoi (from Quynh Luu district) called to ask to buy drugs. Tuan made an appointment with this woman to meet in Nghe An to discuss "business". On November 21, Tuan took a bus to Thai Hoa town to meet Hoi. There, this woman gave Tuan 10 million VND to buy heroin and said "if you buy more, you will pay a high price".

Defendant Lang Van Tuan. Photo: Tran Vu

On the morning of November 23, Tuan took his father’s motorbike to Chau Thon commune, Que Phong district to meet a Mong man to buy a drug plant for 14 million VND. Tuan paid 10.5 million VND in advance, and promised to pay the remaining amount when he sold the “goods”.

After that, Tuan called Hoi to inform him of the location of the drug delivery. At Tuan intersection, Quynh Chau commune, Quynh Luu district, seeing Hoi standing on the other side of the road, Tuan took the drugs to deliver. But before he could carry out the transaction, he was arrested by the Quynh Luu district police task force. The seized evidence was 36.895 grams of heroin.

In court, the defendant confessed honestly, admitting all his crimes. Tuan said "because of illness and need for money, he sold drugs".

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. The defendant’s recidivism was an aggravating circumstance. Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Lang Van Tuan to 16 years in prison.