Released on bail for child support, woman continues to sell drugs

On September 22, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a trial of two defendants: Ha Thi Thanh (born in 1982), residing in Muong Noc commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking" and Cut Thi Trang (born in 1985), residing in Tien Phong commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of "Illegal possession of drugs".

Both female defendants have bad records, having been in prison multiple times for drug use. Trang has been tried three times for drug-related crimes.

Regarding the case, on the morning of March 27, 2023, Thanh walked to the forest area to buy 3.5 million VND worth of drugs from a man (unknown origin). Thanh brought the drugs he bought home to hide.

That same afternoon, Thanh took out a package of drugs to use and was discovered by the police, who confiscated 3.77 grams.

Que Phong District Police have initiated a case and prosecuted Ha Thi Thanh for illegal possession of narcotics. Because she is raising a young child, Thanh was subject to the preventive measure of “Prohibition from leaving the place of residence”.

On his way back to his hometown, Thanh continued to take the drugs he had hidden earlier and divided them into many small packages to resell for profit.

At noon on May 30, Thanh sold 100,000 VND worth of drugs to Cut Thi Trang. When Trang was on her way home, she was discovered by the police.

The investigation agency determined that Ha Thi Thanh must bear criminal responsibility for the act of buying and selling nearly 48 grams of drugs. Cut Thi Trang must bear responsibility for the act of illegally possessing 0.4 grams of drugs.

At the trial, both defendants admitted to their crimes. Defendant Thanh said that due to difficult circumstances, he needed money to buy milk for his young child, so he went into drug trafficking.

Meanwhile, defendant Trang confessed that because of long-term addiction, she bought drugs for use.

After considering the role of each defendant in the case, the panel sentenced Ha Thi Thanh to 15 years in prison and defendant Cut Thi Trang to 1 year and 8 months in prison.