Two students closed their futures because of drug addiction
(Baonghean.vn) - Coming to Nghe An to study, but 2 male Lao students got involved in the drug trafficking of more than 1.6 kg. Both were arrested when one had already graduated from university, just waiting to receive his degree, and the other was a senior student.
The transaction near the university gate
The trial of two defendants Maichanh Lobouaphone (27 years old), residing in Hua Phan province and Zaloun Southammavong (24 years old), residing in Vientiane province (Laos) for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking" attracted a large number of people to attend.
The two defendants are Lao nationals, but both came to Vietnam to study at a school in Vinh City. The journey of 4 years of living and studying in another country is not easy for foreign students. However, both have overcome many barriers such as geographical distance, language, culture, etc. to realize their dreams.
But then, when both were close to getting their university degrees, they got into trouble with the law. At the time of his arrest, Maichanh Lobouaphone had just graduated and was about to receive his university degree. Meanwhile, Zaloun was a fourth-year student majoring in Law.
According to the case file, the incident started when both of them participated in a sports exchange of Lao students studying in Nghe An. During that exchange, Maichanh met a fellow countryman and was asked by this person to sell drugs for him, promising to pay him. The male student agreed and exchanged phone numbers with that person.
On the afternoon of June 27, 2022, Maichanh received a phone call from Nguyen Tat Hung (born in 1976), residing in Do Luong district, asking to buy drugs. That evening, Hung parked his car at a hotel on Le Nin Avenue, Vinh City, then took a taxi to a cafe opposite the gate of Vinh University to wait to meet Maichanh.
At the same time, at the university dormitory, Maichanh received a styrofoam box from an unknown person, containing drugs. After bringing it into the room, Maichanh divided the drugs into two parts and hid them in his personal cabinet. While Maichanh divided and stored the drugs, Zaloun Southammavong was lying on the bed and witnessed the entire incident.
After that, Maichanh went to a coffee shop to meet Hung and agreed to buy 60 packages of drugs for 120 million VND. Because he didn’t have enough money, Hung paid half in advance and delayed the payment. The drug buyer also gave the student 1 million VND as commission.
After receiving the money, Maichanh called Zaloun to give him directions on where to store the drugs and told him to drop them off at the school’s side gate (on Bach Lieu Street, Vinh City). Zaloun took a styrofoam box containing the drugs and dropped them off at the school’s side gate.
While the two parties were making the transaction, they were discovered by Nghe An border guards. Nguyen Tat Hung was arrested on the spot, while the two Lao students ran away for a while before being caught by the police.
During an emergency search of the dormitory where Maichanh lived, the authorities discovered more than 526 grams of drugs. Thus, this subject must bear criminal responsibility for the act of buying and selling more than 1.6 kg of drugs. Meanwhile, his accomplice Zaloun outhammavong must be responsible for more than 1.1 kg of drugs.
Late regret
During the first instance trial, the two Lao defendants confessed and admitted to their crimes. Both said they were international students who came to Nghe An to develop their future. Because of living far from home, lacking close family support, and wanting to earn more money to cover their living expenses in a foreign land, they committed the act of selling drugs.
Both defendants gave the reason that they were foreigners and had limited knowledge of Vietnamese law. As a result, both of them committed illegal acts. Defendant Maichanh expressed remorse when he had the last word: During his time in detention, thanks to the information disseminated by prison officers, he understood more clearly Vietnamese law on drug-related crimes.
“The defendant recognizes that his actions were wrong. But I ask the court to consider reducing his sentence because he is young and a foreigner. I ask the court to grant him leniency under Vietnamese law,” the defendant told the court.
Taking advantage of the time the court was deliberation, the two defendants apologized to their relatives and friends. They also did not forget to remind their friends studying in Vietnam to always try to study well and train themselves so as not to fall into the same trap as them.
The panel of judges determined that in this case, the two defendants had violated the law. Although the volume of the two defendants involved in the trade was large, both had many mitigating circumstances that needed to be considered. Therefore, the court sentenced defendant Maichanh Lobouaphone to life in prison; defendant Zaloun Southamvong to 17 years in prison for the crime of "Illegal trading of narcotics".
Accepting to leave family and hometown to study in a new land is not something everyone can do. However, those two male students could not overcome the trap of sinful money, and now both of them have to pay a heavy price for their wrongdoings at such a young age…
