The fate of those who never turn back.
Having spent countless years in prison, Thành, Hoài, and Minh all refused to turn back when given the chance to reform. The trio contacted each other to buy and sell a large quantity of drugs. Although the defendants offered numerous justifications for their wrongdoings in court, all three will have to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Prisoners team up to start a business.
The People's Court of Nghe An province recently opened a trial to hear the case against three defendants: Nguyen Phu Long Thanh (born in 1976), residing in Van Chuong ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi; Vi Xuan Hoai (born in 1954), residing in Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district; and Kha Van Minh (born in 1977), residing in Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district (Nghe An province), on charges of "illegally trading narcotics".
All three defendants in this case have a bad criminal record, having served multiple prison sentences. Among them, Thanh has been involved with the law since 1994, having received a warning from the police for resisting arrest.
In 1998, Nguyen Phu Long Thanh was sentenced to 9 years in prison for "illegally trading narcotics." Due to his addiction, in 2008 he was sent to a compulsory rehabilitation center. However, he could not break free from heroin. Thanh continued to relapse and was sentenced to 40 months in prison for "illegally possessing narcotics" in 2016. Three years later, he received another 42-month sentence for the same crime.
Not unlike his accomplices, Vi Xuan Hoai also has a bad criminal record. In 2005, Hoai was sentenced to 38 months in prison for "illegally possessing narcotics." In 2010, Hoai received another 10-year sentence for "buying, selling, and harboring the illegal use of narcotics."
Despite being released from prison early, Hoai did not learn from his mistakes or set an example for his children and grandchildren. Instead, he continued to re-offend. That is why Hoai received another sentence in 2018, serving a further 6 years in prison.
In early 2022, Hoai was released from prison and returned to live with his children and grandchildren in his house in Dua village, Luong Minh commune. This area was once considered a drug hotspot in the border region. Starting a new life at nearly 70 years old, and suffering from various illnesses such as stroke, Vi Xuan Hoai has yet to turn over a new leaf. When a fellow inmate contacted him to buy drugs, he readily agreed.
Accordingly, in March 2023, after learning that Hoai had been released from prison, Thanh contacted her to inquire about buying drugs to sell in Hanoi. Thanh offered to buy 3 blocks of heroin and 20 packets of methamphetamine, but Hoai refused to sell on credit, so he had to return home.
Two months later, Thanh contacted Hoai again to inquire about buying drugs. They agreed on one block of heroin for 120 million VND and 2 million VND for each packet of methamphetamine. Thanh would pay the seller 170 million VND upfront, with the remaining amount to be paid later.
To obtain drugs to sell to customers, on the afternoon of May 15, 2023, Hoai went to the hill behind her house (in Dua village, Luong Minh commune) to buy 3 blocks of heroin and 16 packets of heroin on credit from an unknown man. After purchasing the drugs, Hoai brought them home and hid them.
Two days later, after receiving the money from Thanh via bank account, Hoai contacted Minh to hire him to deliver drugs to a customer for a fee of 5 million VND. Minh also had a bad criminal record, having been imprisoned twice, including a 19-year sentence for "Illegal trafficking of narcotics".
Enticed by the offer, Minh accepted and went to retrieve the drugs, which he then hid at his home. When Thanh arrived in Nghe An, Minh delivered the drugs to the buyer. Upon inspecting the goods, Thanh discovered that some drugs were missing, so he called Hoai, who said he would provide the rest.
On the evening of May 18th, Nguyen Phu Long Thanh was arrested by the police along with the drugs while boarding a bus to Hanoi. Expanding the investigation, on January 10th and 15th, 2024, the Nghe An Provincial Police arrested and searched the homes of Vi Xuan Hoai and Kha Van Minh.
The investigating agency determined that defendants Nguyen Phu Long Thanh, Kha Van Minh, and Vi Xuan Hoai are criminally liable for the act of buying and selling more than 1.3 kg of drugs.
The high price to pay
Before the witness stand, all three defendants admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. As the first defendant questioned by the panel of judges, Nguyen Phu Long Thanh testified that he knew Hoai and Minh from his time in prison. After being released from prison, he took a bus to Hoai's house with the intention of asking to go panning for gold: “Hoai said that the government now prohibits that kind of work, but there are drugs here. Therefore, I asked to buy drugs for personal use, but I would sell them to anyone who asked.”
According to the defendant's testimony, he initially wanted to buy drugs on credit, but Hoai refused to sell them. Afterward, he took a bus home to try and borrow money from relatives and friends. "I tricked people into lending me money to buy a car for a taxi service. After gathering 170 million VND, I gave it to Hoai. Those who lent me money had no idea of my true intentions," Thanh testified.
In response to the court's question about why, upon arrest, the defendant did not reveal the identity of the drug dealer but instead gave false information, Thanh explained that he lied to the investigators out of fear. However, after a period of detention, realizing the wrongfulness of his actions, he confessed to his accomplices in the case. Based on Thanh's confession, the investigating agency had grounds to arrest Hoai and Minh.
Clutching the witness stand tightly with both hands, defendant Hoai spoke in a broken voice. She explained that she had suffered a stroke, making it difficult for her to walk and speak. Despite having been imprisoned multiple times and understanding the law, she resorted to drug trafficking for money. "I was greedy and wanted to traffic drugs to get money for medical treatment," Hoai confessed.
Regarding the savings accounts totaling over 3.5 billion VND, numerous land ownership certificates, and gold and silver seized by investigators during the house search, the defendant Hoai claimed that the money came from her family's annual livestock sales; and the gold and jewelry were inherited from her grandparents and were not related to her drug trafficking activities.
The defendant stated that he is now old, frail, and ill, and pleaded with the court for a chance to live after hearing the representative of the People's Procuracy, who was prosecuting at the trial, propose the death penalty. That was also the proposed sentence for defendant Thanh.
When given the opportunity to speak his final words, the defendant Thanh initially said briefly, "There's nothing to say." However, he later expressed remorse and, with a choked voice, pleaded with the court to consider giving him a chance to live again, to rebuild his life, and to return to his family.
The panel of judges determined that the defendants' actions were dangerous to society and violated the law. In this case, the defendants all committed crimes with aggravating circumstances, namely recidivism and a large quantity of drugs, therefore the panel of judges sentenced Nguyen Phu Long Thanh, Vi Van Hoai, and Kha Van Minh to life imprisonment.
Blinded by the illicit gains from drugs, the defendants paid a heavy price despite having had opportunities to reform and rebuild their lives. The sentences handed down to the defendants also serve as a cautionary tale for anyone considering embarking on the path of illegal drug trafficking and possession.
