Exchanging 4 knives for 1 block of drugs, the man 'profited' 20 years in prison

On August 11, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of Kha Bun Than (born 1966) and Kha Van Thi (born 1976), both residing in Noong O village, Huu Lap commune, Ky Son district, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

Before that, at around 9am on April 1, 2020, a Laotian came to Than’s house to buy 4 knives for 1 million VND. However, because he had no money, the Laotian wanted to exchange 1 block of heroin for 4 knives. Than accepted.

Next, this person “asked” Than to sell 4 packages of drugs for 12.8 million VND. Than agreed to take the drugs and then divide them into small pieces to make it easier to sell to addicts.

Two defendants in court. Photo: Tran Vu

On the evening of April 2, a man named Chien in Huu Kiem commune called Than to order 8 packages of pink phien from a girl for 28 million VND. Than agreed, so he went to Kha Van Thi's house and invited her to go with him. At 9 pm that same day, Than and Thi went into the forest to meet Chien. However, because Than only had 4 packages of drugs at that time, the customer did not agree to take them but waited "until he had enough goods to receive them". After that, Than told Thi to find 4 more packages of drugs.

The next morning, Thi went into the forest to buy 4 packages of drugs from a Mong man for 12 million VND, promising to pay when he had the money. Late in the afternoon of April 3, at an abandoned house deep in the forest, Than and Thi delivered 8 packages of drugs weighing 124.8 grams to the customer when they were raided by a police team from Ky Son district. Than and Thi were arrested, while the others quickly fled.

At court, the two defendants admitted their crimes. Than confessed that because he was addicted to opium, he agreed to exchange the knife for drugs. Later, because of greed, he participated in drug trafficking. Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Kha Bun Than to 20 years in prison and Kha Van Thi to 18 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.