Going to barber school, cousins ​​become drug dealers

Renting an apartment to sell drugs

Truong Duc Anh (30 years old) and Dang Quang Duy (29 years old), both living in Nghia Thanh commune, Nghia Dan district, are cousins. In addition to their family relationship, both of them became orphans early when Anh lost his father and Duy's mother also passed away.

Due to family circumstances, both of them dropped out of school early and started working. After working for a while, the two cousins ​​decided to go to Hanoi to learn hairdressing. In the capital, they rented a fairly famous apartment to live in. But only a short time later, the couple committed illegal drug trafficking twice.

According to the indictment, on the first occasion, due to an acquaintance, on August 4, 2023, Truong Duc Anh was contacted by Le Thi Nhung (born in 1995, residing in Hung Yen province) to order 20 "candy" synthetic drug pills and about 100 grams of Ketamine. He agreed to sell to the customer, so he quoted a price of 56 million VND and asked for a "deposit" of 3 million VND.

On the same day, Anh went to the roadside of a large urban area in Da Ton commune, Gia Lam district (Hanoi) to buy drugs from a motorbike taxi driver. He brought the purchased drugs back to his apartment to hide. On August 7, Anh gave his cousin Dang Quang Duy the drugs to sell to Nhung.

After buying the drugs, Nhung sold them to customers and was caught red-handed by the police. Afterwards, the investigation agency separated the defendant Le Thi Nhung for a separate trial and she was sentenced to 11 years and 9 months in prison.

In addition to the above crimes, Anh also sold drugs to Le Quang Hung (29 years old, residing in Quan Bau ward, Vinh city). Specifically, on August 10, 2023, Hung called Anh to buy 100 grams of Ketamnie and 100 synthetic drug pills, and transferred 71 million VND.

To have "goods" to sell to customers, on August 13, Truong Duc Anh bought many drug pills from a man named Vuong (unknown identity and background) for 19 million VND.

That same afternoon, Vuong sent a shipper to deliver the drugs to Anh. Because Anh was returning to his hometown for his father's death anniversary, the young man asked his cousin Duy to go down to the apartment lobby to receive the drugs disguised in a glass tea set.

After receiving the drugs, Duy sent Hung by bus to Vinh City. At nearly 10 p.m. the same day, when Hung went to receive the drugs, he was caught red-handed by the police. A few days later, when they learned that Hung had been arrested by the police, Anh and Duy deleted their accounts to deal with the authorities.

Expanding the investigation, on October 10, 2023, the Vinh City Police Investigation Agency issued an emergency detention order for Dang Quang Duy for illegal drug trafficking. On the same day, Truong Duc Anh surrendered to the police.

The investigation agency determined that in this case, Anh and Duy must bear criminal responsibility for two times of buying and selling 148 grams of drugs. Le Quang Hung must bear responsibility for the act of storing more than 71 grams of drugs.

Cousins ​​in prison

With the above acts, the two defendants Dang Quang Duy and Truong Duc Anh were prosecuted and brought to trial for the crime of Illegal drug trafficking. Defendant Le Quang Hung was tried for the crime of Illegal drug transportation.

At the new trial, before the witness stand, the defendants admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. The two defendants Anh and Duy stated that they were cousins, and had both come to Hanoi to learn hairdressing. Lacking the supervision of their relatives and because of greed, both of them fell deeper into drug trafficking despite knowing that their actions violated the law.

Both expressed remorse for their wrongdoings and felt guilty towards their families and relatives. The two defendants stated that they had always dreamed of having a job to stabilize their lives and take care of their relatives. However, because of their passion for entertainment and competition, they decided to engage in illegal drug trafficking. Now, when they had to appear in court, the two brothers expressed regret that their greed had buried their youth in prison.

Also on trial, defendant Le Quang Hung stated that he bought the drugs for his own use, not for sale. When asked by the jury why he bought such a large quantity, he stated that he kept them at home for later use. “After each time I drink with friends, I usually take out the drugs to use,” he stated.

The panel of judges determined that the defendants’ acts of illegally buying, selling, and storing drugs were in violation of the law. Although the defendants knew that such acts were prohibited by law, they still bought, sold, and stored drugs regardless of their greed, so they need to be severely punished to serve as a deterrent and general prevention.

In this case, the two defendants Dang Quang Duy and Truong Duc Anh had aggravating circumstances of committing the crime two times or more, so each defendant was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Defendant Le Quang Hung was sentenced to 10 years for illegal possession of narcotics.

Drugs have caused three young men to spend their youth in prison. The sentences given to the defendants are a valuable lesson for many others, especially the youth.