'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 intentionally 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”.
Having 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 what his friend said 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, to ask for the price of drugs.
Seeing Le Anh Duc asking for the selling price, Tuan called a Laotian man (unknown origin) 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 a price of 210 million VND for 1 kg of drugs and 180 million VND for 1 cake of heroin. Duc agreed and offered to buy 2 cakes of heroin to sell to customers, and for 1 kg of ice, Duc invited Tao to pool money to buy it together to sell retail.
At noon on 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 deposit. Here, Tuan received 130 million VND from Tao to help 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 get 1 kg of crystal meth in advance.
On the morning of January 28, 2021, Nguyen Van Tuan called his friend Tran Cong Hai 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 of “goods” Tuan carried with him contained 994.135 grams of drugs. It is known that Nguyen Van Tuan has a previous conviction for “Illegal possession of drugs”, 2 previous convictions for “Gambling”, “Extortion of citizens’ property”, “Organizing illegal use of drugs” and “Robbery”. Tran Cong Hai also has a previous conviction for “Illegal trading of drugs”.
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 trafficked, 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 the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking”. Tran Van Hai was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the same crime.
