The fate of the young man who, even in prison, still planned to traffic drugs.

Young people spiral into mistakes.

Nguyen Ngoc Ty (born in 1996, residing in Cua Nam Ward, Vinh City) was born and raised in a rather unusual family. From a young age, Ty lived under the care of his mother, lacking the love of a father. Because he did not attend school, the defendant is illiterate.

Lacking education and qualifications, Tý soon began earning a living as a hired porter at the market. He said that thanks to this manual labor, he earned a little over a hundred thousand dong each day. Having started working early, in a complex environment, and lacking resilience, Tý quickly fell into temptation.

In 2013, at the age of 17, Nguyen Ngoc Ty was involved in a drug trafficking operation and sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison. After serving 2 years of his sentence, he re-offended. Therefore, in 2018, Ty was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Notably, while serving his sentence at Detention Center No. 6 – Ministry of Public Security, instead of reforming himself, Ty planned to engage in drug trafficking after his release.

According to the indictment, Nguyen Ngoc Ty met a man named Cu (a Laotian national, whose identity is unknown) while in prison. The two discussed and agreed to contact each other after their release to buy and sell drugs for profit.

After being released from prison for some time, on April 1, 2023, Ty called Cu to order 3 kg of Ketamine for 550 million VND. To ensure the drug transaction took place, Ty went to the bank to transfer the money to his partner.

Later, Nguyen Ngoc Ty invited two friends, Nguyen The Anh (born in 1996) and Nguyen Hong Quan (born in 1995), both residing in Vinh City, to accompany him to transport the drugs. After agreeing on a plan, on the evening of April 3, 2023, the three met at a gas station and set off on motorbikes to the Cau Treo border gate area (Ha Tinh province).

Here, Tý was tasked with retrieving the drugs from the Laotians, while Quân and Thế Anh stayed by the roadside. At this point, Quân instructed Thế Anh: "When returning, if you encounter a traffic police checkpoint, signaling left is safe, but signaling right means you're discarding the drugs."

After receiving 3 kg of drugs, the suspects returned to Nghe An. Along the way, The Anh and Quan took turns transporting the drugs. At approximately 11:30 PM that same day, when all three reached Trung Phuc Cuong commune (Nam Dan district), they were spotted by a Nghe An anti-drug task force. The Anh immediately threw the bag of drugs into a rice field to escape but was apprehended by the police. Nguyen Ngoc Ty was also arrested, while Nguyen Hong Quan managed to flee. He is currently wanted by the police.

The price to pay

For the aforementioned actions, defendants Nguyen Ngoc Ty and Nguyen The Anh were prosecuted and brought to trial for the crime of illegally trading narcotics. At the trial, both defendants appeared remorseful and admitted their criminal acts.

Defendant Tý testified that he met the Lao national while in prison and subsequently bought drugs from him. Regarding the 550 million VND used to buy drugs, Nguyen Ngoc Tý claimed it was accumulated through savings. However, when questioned by the court about the fact that he had been repeatedly imprisoned, lacked a stable job, and his family had no assets, the defendant remained silent.

On his third court appearance, defendant Tý presented his difficult circumstances and young children to plead for a chance at life. He expressed remorse and regret for his criminal actions.

In the case, the co-defendant The Anh also admitted to going with his friend to buy drugs. He stated that because they were friends, he agreed when Ty invited him to go get drugs. The Anh knew it was a violation of the law, having served time in prison several times before, but he agreed because of greed.

The panel of judges determined that in this case, defendant Tý was the mastermind, while Thế Anh was an active participant, so both played equal roles. The actions of the two defendants were dangerous to society, and drugs are the root cause of other social evils, therefore they need to be severely punished.

After considering all aspects of the case, the panel of judges sentenced defendants Nguyen Ngoc Ty and Nguyen The Anh to life imprisonment for the crime of illegally trading in narcotics.

Despite a series of mistakes in his youth, Tý did not stop to reform himself. Instead, he planned to traffic drugs while in prison, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the law. Therefore, a life sentence is the price he must pay for his reckless lifestyle.