The construction worker trafficked drugs across the border.
(Baonghean.vn) - While working in construction in Laos, Hoa also smuggled drugs back to Vietnam to sell. Facing the verdict of the law, the father of three children cried many times.
On September 14, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a trial of defendant Tran Van Hoa (born 1982), residing in Anh Son town, Anh Son district, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking”.
In early 2023, Hoa was working on a construction project in Laos when he met Vu. Vu suggested that he had drugs to sell, so Hoa contacted Son and Hoc (whom he knew through social relationships) to discuss selling heroin to these two people.
On the morning of February 9, 2023, Son called Hoa to order 10 packages of opium (priced at 70 million VND), and Hoc ordered 5 packages of opium (priced at 15 million VND).
To have money to buy drugs, on February 12, Hoa returned to Vietnam and asked the two customers to transfer money in advance. Therefore, the two drug buyers transferred 25 million VND to Hoa.
The next day, Hoa took the money back to Laos to buy 15 packages of drugs (worth 25 million VND). To avoid being detected by the police, Hoa did not receive the drugs immediately but asked the seller to take them to a gas station in Huong Son district (Ha Tinh).
That same afternoon, following the Laotian’s instructions, Hoa arrived at a location near the gas station and saw 15 packages of opium in plastic bags. Hoa quickly hid them and called the customer to come and receive the “goods”.
On the evening of February 14, Hoa delivered drugs to two customers. After successfully trading 10 packages of opium in Cau Ro (Thanh Chuong district), Hoa went to a cornfield in Da Son commune, Do Luong district to deliver the "goods" to the remaining customer.
However, while Tran Van Hoa was making the transaction, he was caught red-handed by the police. Taking advantage of the darkness, the drug buyer quickly escaped. The investigation agency determined that Hoa must bear criminal responsibility for more than 212 grams of drugs.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime. Hoa said he committed the crime because of the pressure of debt. The defendant expressed remorse and cried many times in court.
The panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendant had many mitigating circumstances such as his honest confession, remorse, his father being a volunteer soldier on the front line, his grandmother being a heroic Vietnamese mother, and the defendant himself actively contributing to the Covid-19 prevention movement. Therefore, the court sentenced Tran Van Hoa to 20 years in prison.
