Fly from Dak Lak to Nghe An to buy crystal meth

On the morning of June 29, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance criminal trial of defendant Le Ba Tai (born 1989, residing in Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province). Tai was prosecuted for "Illegal drug trafficking".

Defendant Le Ba Tai in court. Photo: Phuong Thao

According to the indictment, while using synthetic drugs in Buon Ma Thuot city, Tai met a young man named Hieu from Nghe An. Hieu told Tai that Nghe An sold cheap crystal meth and gave Tai the phone number of a man named Khoi. Tai immediately contacted Khoi to ask him to buy crystal meth.

On January 4, 2018, Tai flew to Nghe An and was picked up by Khoi. Khoi took Tai to rent a room at motel 478, Tan Lac town, Quy Chau district. At about 9:00 a.m. on January 5, 2018, Khoi informed Tai that he had found the goods and that if he had the money, he could get the goods immediately. Tai immediately went to the bank to withdraw money and gave Khoi 300 million VND, of which 280 million VND was for buying crystal meth, and 20 million VND was for the wages Tai paid Khoi.

After receiving the money, Khoi left the motel. At about 5:00 p.m. on January 5, 2018, Khoi called Tai and told him that the drugs were placed in a mountain of black plastic in the trash can in front of the motel. Tai followed the instructions and was caught red-handed when he brought the drugs into his room to hide them. The investigation agency determined that the contraband was 1,004.435 grams of synthetic drugs.

In court, Le Ba Tai admitted all his crimes. The jury sentenced him to 18 years in prison for "illegally buying and selling drugs".