Sentence reduced for man who trafficked 200 kg of explosives

On September 24, 2020, the High People's Court opened an appeal hearing for Van Huy Thang (born in 1976), residing in Quynh Loc commune, Hoang Mai town, Nghe An province, for the crime of "Buying and selling explosives" due to the defendant's appeal for a reduced sentence.

According to the indictment, on May 13, 2019, Nguyen Van Dung (born in 1977), residing in Nghi Son commune, Tinh Gia district, Thanh Hoa, was at home when a woman came to visit, introducing herself as Nga (Tien Thuy commune, Quynh Luu district) and asked her to buy a quantity of explosives. Dung agreed, so 4 days later he went to Van Huy Thang's house to ask to buy it.explosiveto sell to customers.

Nguyen Van Dung and Van Huy Thang at the trial (from left to right).

Here, the two sides agreed on a price of 220,000 VND/kg. To have goods to sell to customers, Thang went to Tinh Gia district to inquire about buying explosives from a stranger.

On May 20, Dung rented a car and went to the gate of Hamlet 10, Quynh Loc Commune to meet Thang and receive 4 bags of Amonit explosives, weighing 200 kg. That same evening, when the car reached Quynh Di Ward, Hoang Mai Town, the Hoang Mai Town Police asked to stop the car, check it, and discovered all the evidence.

At court, the two defendants admitted their crimes and said that they participated in the purchase of explosives out of greed. Defendant Dung said that Nga promised to pay him 4.5 million VND, but before he received the money, he was arrested by the police. It is known that, in addition to the timecourtVan Huy Thang had a previous conviction for illegally trading explosives in 2013 and was sentenced to 15 months in prison with a suspended sentence and 30 months probation.

The first instance court sentenced Nguyen Van Dung to 13 years in prison and Van Huy Thang to 12 years in prison for “trading in explosives”. After the first instance trial, defendant Van Huy Thang filed an appeal for a reduced sentence.

At the trial, the defendant presented mitigating circumstances such as his contribution in arresting a subject in Quynh Thien ward transporting explosives and his father was awarded the Resistance Medal by the State, and the defendant himself was awarded a certificate of merit for his military service. After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel of judges accepted the appeal and decided to sentence the defendant Van Huy Thang to 10 years in prison for the crime of “Buying and selling explosives”.