Going to 'ship white goods' to use them for free, get 20 years in prison

On the morning of November 11, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Truong Quang Thinh (born 1989), residing in Quang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, for the crime of "Illegally transporting narcotics".

Previously, on the afternoon of June 11, 2019, Thinh rode a Yamaha Exciter motorbike from Yen Thanh district to Vi Thi Xuyen's house (Chau Thon commune, Que Phong district) to play. At noon on June 12, Thinh drove a motorbike carrying Xuyen to the house of a man named Tho in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district. There, the two took out drugs to use. After that, Tho asked Thinh to bring drugs and an electronic scale to Chau Thon intersection for a man. Thinh agreed.

Defendant Truong Quang Thinh at trial. Photo: Tran Vu

Thinh drove Xuyen home on a motorbike. When they reached the Cho hamlet area, Tri Le commune, they were asked by the Que Phong district police team to stop the motorbike, but Thinh sped away. When they reached the Mo hamlet area, Chau Thon commune, Thinh took the package of drugs hanging on the bike rack, threw it on the right side of the road, and then continued to run away.

At km 255+300 of National Highway 46 in Kim Son town, Thinh discovered a police task force blocking the road, so he turned around and ran away, but the vehicle slipped and fell, so he was arrested. The task force took Truong Quang Thinh back to the area where the plastic bag was thrown away and discovered 20 grams of compressed synthetic drugs and 102 grams of crystal meth.

At the trial, the defendant denied his guilt. At first, Thinh said he did not know the substance in the plastic bag was drugs, but later admitted to the crime.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. The defendant’s failure to confess during the initial investigation did not merit any mitigating circumstances. Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Truong Quang Thinh to 20 years in prison for “Illegal transportation of narcotics.”

As for the man named Tho, Thinh did not know the specific address so the authorities had no basis to investigate. As for the woman named Xuyen, she claimed not to know about Thinh's drug trafficking so she is not criminally responsible.