Greedy for money, aunt asked niece to carry drugs for hire
(Baonghean.vn) - On March 20, Nghe An Provincial People's Court held the first instance trial of the case of "Illegal transportation of narcotics" against Luong Thi Lo (born 1981) and Luong Thi Duyen (born 1993), both residing in Muong Noc commune, Que Phong district, Nghe An.
According to the indictment, more than 10 years ago, while working in Gia Lai province, Luong Thi Lo met a man named Tuan (unknown background and address). Lo returned to her hometown to live and get married, but still kept in touch with Tuan.
In mid-2023, Tuan contacted Lo and invited him to come over. After a few days, Lo returned to his hometown. On August 5, 2023, Tuan called Lo and asked him to pick up the drugs, promising to pay him 10 million VND and providing contact information for the delivery person.
On August 9, 2023, Lo and a Mong man (identity unknown) contacted and agreed on a time and place to deliver the drugs. Lo invited his niece (his brother's daughter), Luong Thi Duyen, to go receive the drugs with him.
When the two of them arrived at the drug delivery location, the delivery man changed to another location. Lo told Duyen to follow the other man's instructions. This man said that the drugs would be put in a sack and thrown on the side of the road to avoid detection by the authorities.
Duyen followed the instructions and saw a bag with the above characteristics, so she put it in the basket of her motorbike, disguised it in her jacket and brought it home. While Duyen was on the road, she was discovered by the authorities and caught red-handed with 3.8 kg of opium resin. Luong Thi Lo was also arrested shortly after.
At the trial, the two defendants admitted to committing the crimes as charged in the indictment. Both Luong Thi Lo and Luong Thi Duyen said that they committed the crime because of limited legal awareness and temporary greed.
The jury determined that in this case, Luong Thi Lo was the initiator and should bear a higher level of criminal responsibility. Both defendants confessed honestly, repented, had many achievements and contributions to local sports activities, and were awarded many certificates of merit. These are mitigating circumstances according to the law.
Considering the case comprehensively, the first instance trial panel sentenced Luong Thi Lo to 16 years in prison and Luong Thi Duyen to 10 years in prison for the crime of“Illegal drug trafficking”.
