Drug trafficker arrested after 25 years.
After colluding with his accomplices to traffic 22 kg of opium resin, Tran Van Que fled the area. While on the run, Que changed his name and lived a secluded life in various provinces and cities. Twenty-five years later, the fugitive was finally apprehended and sentenced by the law.
On October 27th, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial to hear the case against defendant Tran Van Que (born in 1958), residing in Hung Nguyen Nam commune (Nghe An province), for the crime of illegally trading narcotics.
The case involving the defendant Que occurred 27 years ago. That was in 1999, after a period of trading timber, Que, along with Nguyen Thac Hung (born in 1933, residing in Hung Nguyen Nam commune) and Luong Danh Tuyen (born in 1951, residing in Tuong Duong commune), shifted their focus to pooling capital to buy opium resin for resale.
The group agreed that Tuyen would be responsible for finding buyers for the drugs, Que would be in charge of checking the quality and transporting them by river, and Hung would be the one to sell the drugs.
The investigating agency determined that Que and the other suspects had engaged in the illegal buying and selling of drugs three times, involving a total of 22 kg of opium resin.
The first time was around June 1999, when Que and two friends pooled 30 million VND to buy drugs for resale. Que went to the border area to buy the drugs from an unknown individual. After selling them, Que received a profit of 900,000 VND. In August of the same year, Que's group continued to pool 20 million VND to buy 7 kg of opium resin to resell for profit. This time, Que received a profit of 1.7 million VND. In September 1999, Que again pooled money with other individuals to traffic drugs. This time, Que did not benefit because his accomplices stated that after receiving the drugs, they were followed on the way back, so they threw away the opium and fled. After this incident, the individuals no longer pooled capital to buy and sell drugs together. In 2001, upon learning that Nguyen Thac Hung and related individuals had been arrested by the police, Tran Van Que fled the area.
During his time on the run, Que changed his name and place of origin, hiding in various provinces and cities. He used an identity card under the name Hoang Dang Cong, lived a secluded life, had no contact with relatives, and frequently stayed in a makeshift hut in the fields. All information and clues about him were concealed.
Twenty-five years later, through intelligence gathering, the Nghe An Provincial Police discovered that Tran Van Que was hiding in Thuan An commune, Lam Dong province, and organized a manhunt. On June 12, 2026, Que was arrested by the police and extradited to Nghe An.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime. Defendant Que stated that out of fear, she fled the area and lived a nomadic life. She expressed remorse and asked the court to consider mitigating circumstances due to her poor health. She is currently suffering from terminal cancer.
After a comprehensive review of the case, the court sentenced defendant Tran Van Que to life imprisonment for the crime of illegally trading in narcotics.
