Two cousins ​​sentenced to death for transporting 8kg of drugs

On March 28, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a trial for two defendants, Xong Ba Tong (born 1994) and Xong Ba Da (born 2000), both residing in Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district (Nghe An), for the crime of "Illegally transporting narcotics".

According to the case file, on January 16, 2024, Xong Ba Tong was contacted by Lau Ba Po (born in 1993, residing in Muong Tip commune, Ky Son district) via social media to come to Po's house for something. About 10 minutes later, Tong rode a motorbike to Po's house.

On the way, Tong met Xong Ba Da - his uncle's son - so he stopped to talk. When Tong invited him to Po's house to discuss important matters, Da agreed.

Upon arrival, Po asked Tong to deliver drugs to Thanh Tri bridge (Hanoi). Tong asked how much, and Po replied 8kg, for 160 million VND.

Hearing that, Tong agreed but explained that he did not have money for the bus fare. At that time, Po gave Tong and Da each 2 million VND for travel expenses.

After that, the two subjects received the sack containing 8kg of drugs and drove each other home by motorbike. On the way, Tong clearly told Da that Po hired him to transport the drugs to Hanoi, and that each of them would receive 80 million VND as a salary. Hearing that, Da agreed to transport the drugs to Hanoi.

At 4:30 p.m. the same day, Tong and Da took a bus carrying drugs to Hanoi. At 4 a.m. the next day, when Xong Ba Tong and Xong Ba Da got off the bus at the Ring Road 3, Hoang Mai District (Hanoi) to wait for someone to receive the drugs, Nghe An Police in coordination with functional forces arrested them and the evidence.

At the trial, defendant Da admitted to the crime as charged in the indictment. Meanwhile, defendant Tong initially gave a evasive statement, stating that he did not know that the bag Po handed over contained drugs. But later, defendant Tong admitted to the crime. This defendant apologized to the Trial Panel for his initial evasive denial.

Faced with the severe sentence of the law, both defendants asked the court to give them a chance to live and rebuild their lives.

Considering the defendants' actions were dangerous to society and the amount of drugs was especially large, the panel sentenced the two defendants Xong Ba Tong and Xong Ba Da to death.

Regarding Lau Ba Po - the investigation agency has conducted verification and issued an order to detain him in an emergency, but he fled the area. Apart from the statements of the two defendants, there are no other documents or evidence to prove it, so there is not enough basis to prosecute Po. The investigation agency has separated Po's actions to continue verifying and arresting him. When there is a basis, it will be handled later.