Carrying many criminal records to traffic drugs
(Baonghean.vn) - The defendants all had previous convictions for drugs, but when asked why they continued to trade, most of the defendants could not answer why they deliberately went to prison.
On September 20, the People's Court of Nghe An province brought the defendants Nguyen Van Tuan (Quy Hop district, Nghe An); Truong Hong Tao (Hanoi city); Le Anh Duc (Hanoi city) and defendant Tran Cong Hai (Quy Hop district, Nghe An) to trial for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".
Because they had known each other for a long time, at the end of January 2021, Le Anh Duc asked Truong Hong Tao if he knew of any place that sold large quantities of drugs, as Duc was in need of buying them. Tao heard his friend say that and immediately said that he would ask his friend in Nghe An and then inform him later. After returning home, Tao called Nguyen Van Tuan (born in 1977); residing in Nghia Xuan commune, Quy Hop district, Nghe An, with the purpose of asking for the price of drugs.
Seeing Le Anh Duc asking for the selling price, Tuan called a Laotian man (unknown background) and was informed by this man that 1 kg of crystal meth cost 80 million VND, and 1 cake of heroin cost 110 million VND. With the purpose of profiting from the difference, Tuan informed Duc that the price was 150 million VND/1 kg of crystal meth and 1 cake of heroin cost 160 million VND.
Hearing the prices, Tao asked Duc if he could get 2 kg of each type, but Tuan refused because there were too many for him to get.
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Nguyen Van Tuan, Le Anh Duc, Truong Hong Tao, Tran Van Hai at the trial (from left to right). Photo: An Quynh |
At the same time, Truong Hong Tao called Duc with the price of 1 kg of drugs at 210 million VND and 1 cake of heroin at 180 million VND. Duc agreed and wanted to buy 2 cakes of heroin to sell to customers, and Duc invited Tao to pool money to buy 1 kg of meth to sell retail.
On the afternoon of January 27, 2021, Le Anh Duc drove to Tuan's house in Nghia Xuan commune (Quy Hop district), then went with Tao to Tuan's house to make a deposit. Here, Tuan received 130 million VND from Tao to help him buy 1 cake of heroin and 1 kg of crystal meth.
At 7:00 p.m. the same day, Tuan contacted the Laotian man he had called earlier and was instructed to go to Phu Phuong intersection (Tien Phong commune, Que Phong district) to give 80 million VND and receive 1 kg of crystal meth in advance.
On the morning of January 28, 2021, Nguyen Van Tuan called his friend Tran Cong Hai to go to Phu Phuong intersection to take him home. After meeting Tuan, Hai knew that Tuan was going to buy drugs to sell to others, but he thought that Tuan would pay him later, so he still took his friend to find drugs. However, after getting the goods, the two of them drove home when they passed Dong Song hamlet (Dong Hop commune, Quy Hop district) and were caught red-handed by Yen Thanh district police.
Through examination, the package Tuan carried with him contained 994.135 grams of drugs. It is known that Nguyen Van Tuan has a criminal record for "Illegal possession of narcotics", 2 criminal records for "Gambling", "Extortion of citizens' property", "Organizing illegal use of narcotics" and "Robbery". Tran Cong Hai also has a criminal record for "Illegal trading of narcotics".
At that time, Truong Hong Tao was preparing money to wait for the goods when he was detained by the Yen Thanh District Police Department in an emergency. Le Anh Duc was also prosecuted by the Ha Dong District Police (Hanoi City) for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking" in another case.
The defendants Nguyen Van Tuan and Tran Van Hai are both dangerous recidivists. As for the Laotian man who sold drugs to Tuan, because the investigation agency could not investigate his background or address, there was no basis for verification.
Previously, on September 14, 2022, the trial was held. However, because the defendants denied the charges, the trial was extended to clarify the role and behavior of each defendant in the case.
The Trial Panel determined that the defendants’ actions were very dangerous, and if the drugs were successfully traded, the consequences would be dire. Considering the case as a whole, the Trial Panel decided to sentence the defendants Nguyen Van Hai, Truong Hong Tao, and Le Anh Duc to life in prison for “Illegal drug trafficking.” Tran Van Hai was also sentenced to 16 years in prison for the same offense.
