Widow jailed for drug debt

On December 21, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Luong Thi Yeng (born 1968), residing in Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district, for the crime of"Illegal drug trafficking".

This is the third time Luong Thi Yeng has been in trouble with the law. Previously, Yeng had been in prison twice with sentences of 8 years and 3 years, also for drug-related crimes.

According to the indictment, from around May to June 2022, a woman came to Yeng's house to ask to buy 15 packages of pink phien and 300 grams of crystal meth for 175 million VND (this person had stopped by the house to take shelter from the rain, so Yeng agreed).

To have drugs to sell to customers, on July 26, Yeng rode a motorbike to the Dua village area, Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district to buy drugs on debt from an unknown man for 40 million VND.

Defendant Luong Thi Yeng at the online trial. Photo: Tran Vu

Yeng brought the drugs he bought home and hid them in the bushes near his house. Then, Yeng called the customer to inform him that he had the “goods” and set a time and place for delivery.

Late that night, when Yeng was holding more than 552 grams of drugs to deliver to a customer, he was discovered and caught red-handed by the police. Seeing this, the customer quickly ran away.

At the online trial, the defendant confessed and admitted to his crime. The defendant said that because of difficult circumstances and greed, he sold drugs. The female defendant said that because she had no money, she bought drugs on credit.

After considering aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced defendant Luong Thi Yeng to 20 years in prison for "Illegal drug trafficking".