Shipper receives indefinite sentence for hiding drugs in landfill to sell for profit

Bad past

The first instance criminal trial of the two defendants Le Duy Cuong (born in 1987) and Dinh Van Thanh (born in 1991), both residing in Vinh City, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking" took place at the end of November 2023 with many relatives attending, but this was not the first time Cuong and Thanh participated as defendants.

Talking about Le Duy Cuong, although he was born in the city, he only finished 10th grade before dropping out of school. As the second child in a family of 3 brothers and sisters, Cuong started working quite early. Because he was involved in society early, this man got into drugs and could not find a way out. And it was drugs that dragged Cuong from one "swamp" to another and ended up with an indefinite sentence.

Also because of drug addiction and lack of money to spend, at the age of 20, he was convicted. In February 2007, Le Duy Cuong was sentenced by the People's Court of Yen Thanh district to 9 months in prison for "Theft of property". On September 22, 2007, Cuong completed his prison sentence.

Just released from prison for 1 year, Cuong still refused to work hard and this time, he was sentenced by the People's Court of Vinh City to 36 months in prison for "Destruction or intentional damage to property". In October 2010, Cuong finished serving his prison sentence.

With a lazy nature and a desire to have money to spend, in 2011, Cuong continued to commit theft. This time, he was sentenced to 42 months in prison by the People's Court of Vinh City.

In June 2014, Cuong finished his prison term and finally found a freelance job to make a living. Cuong married a woman 10 years younger than him and had a child together. As a drug addict, Le Duy Cuong still could not get rid of the "white ghost". Although he had a family, he lived as husband and wife with a woman in Que Phong district and then continued to be sentenced.

In June 2019, Cuong was sentenced by the People's Court of Vinh City to 9 months in prison for "Illegal possession of narcotics". In November 2019, he completed his prison sentence. However, 2 years later, in August 2021, Cuong was again sentenced by the People's Court of Vinh City to 13 months in prison for "Illegal possession of narcotics".

Hiding drugs in the dump

As a long-time addict, when he lacked money to buy "goods" for personal use and spending, Le Duy Cuong thought of buying drugs to sell for profit. In May 2022, after completing his prison sentence and returning to his hometown, without a stable job, Le Duy Cuong decided to buy drugs to sell. Through social relationships, Cuong became acquainted with a subject in Vu Quang (Ha Tinh) who sold drugs.

In early December 2022, Le Duy Cuong asked this person to buy 300 million VND worth of crystal meth. The two sides agreed and arranged to make a transaction near the roundabout of the bypass road in Hong Linh town (Ha Tinh). The man selling drugs directed Cuong to a roadside marker to get a black plastic bag containing crystal meth. Cuong took it home, put it in a thermos and a plastic box and hid it in a garbage dump on the side of Nguyen Sy Sach street (Vinh city). The next evening, Cuong called another person in Cam Xuyen district (Ha Tinh) to ask to buy 3 million VND worth of drugs (ecstasy). The two sides agreed and Cuong went to get the drugs in an area near the regulating lake in Hung Loc commune (Vinh city) and then brought it back to hide.

In early 2023, knowing that Cuong was selling drugs, Dinh Van Thanh ordered them to sell for profit. On the night of February 8, Thanh contacted Cuong to buy 19.46 grams of crystal meth and 16.42 grams of ecstasy. The two agreed to pay after the sale. Cuong then went to the hiding area to get them and put them in a bamboo bush on the road near the lake in Hung Loc commune (Vinh city) and then contacted Thanh to pick them up.

However, when Cuong went to the area where the drugs were hidden to get the "goods" to trade, he was caught red-handed by the police along with the evidence. As for Dinh Van Thanh, following Cuong's instructions when ordering the drugs, he went to the bamboo bushes near the lake to get the drugs and put them in plastic bottles and thermoses and hid them in different locations in the cemetery area of ​​Ben Thuy ward (Vinh city). On the night of February 11, when a man ordered drugs online to buy 4.99 grams of crystal meth and 0.82 grams of ecstasy, Thanh drove a motorbike to make the transaction and was also arrested by the police along with the evidence.

Authorities determined that Le Duy Cuong was responsible for a total of 1,232.63 grams of crystal meth and 18.04 grams of ecstasy. Dinh Van Thanh was responsible for 16.42 grams of ecstasy and 19.46 grams of crystal meth.

Price

At the trial, both defendants Le Duy Cuong and Dinh Van Thanh admitted to their crimes. Defendant Cuong admitted that he wanted to have money to spend and use drugs, so he had the idea of ​​buying and selling them for profit. Using his social connections, Cuong contacted the seller to commit the crime. To avoid detection by the authorities, the defendant hid the drugs in a garbage dump on Nguyen Sy Sach Street, Hung Dung Ward (Vinh City) for a long time, and only took them out when there was a buyer. In addition, Cuong admitted that he was addicted to drugs, so he bought them for use.

When the judge asked, "Where did the defendant get the money to buy drugs after being released from prison for only 7 months?", Cuong explained: "Before that, the defendant worked as a shipper, earning 7-10 million VND/month, so he was able to save up."

Defendant Le Duy Cuong also said that he was very remorseful and repentant about his actions and hoped the court would consider reducing his sentence so that he could return to his family soon.

At the trial, defendant Dinh Van Thanh also confessed to buying drugs from Cuong to sell for profit, but because he did not have money, he bought them on credit and would pay them back after selling the drugs.

The panel of judges determined that the actions of the two defendants Le Duy Cuong and Dinh Van Thanh were dangerous to society and therefore must be strictly tried for general deterrence and prevention. Defendant Le Duy Cuong is a dangerous recidivist, but during the investigation and at the trial, he confessed honestly and showed remorse for his actions. Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced defendant Le Duy Cuong to life imprisonment and defendant Dinh Van Thanh to 8 years in prison for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

The indefinite sentence has ended Le Duy Cuong's youth. If only, after being in and out of prison, Cuong had time to think about his parents, wife and children to know when to stop. However, he still hopes that the remaining time behind bars will be enough for him to realize right from wrong, try to reform well and soon return home.