The fate of those who do not know how to turn back
Having lived many times in prison, Thanh, Hoai and Minh did not turn back when given the chance to reform. The trio contacted each other to buy and sell a large quantity of drugs. Although on the day of their trial, the defendants gave many reasons to justify their wrongdoings. However, all three will have to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Prisoners invite each other to "start a business"
The People's Court of Nghe An province has just opened a trial of 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) for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".
The three defendants in this case all have bad records, having been in prison many times. Thanh has been in trouble with the law since 1994 when he was warned by the police for resisting a law enforcement officer.
In 1998, Nguyen Phu Long Thanh was sentenced to 9 years in prison for "illegally buying and selling drugs". Also because of his addiction, in 2008, this subject was sent to a compulsory drug rehabilitation facility. However, that man still could not break away from the "brown fairy". Thanh continued to fall into addiction and was sentenced to 40 months in prison for "illegally possessing drugs" in 2016. 3 years later, Thanh continued to be sentenced to 42 months in prison for the same crime.
Not inferior to his accomplice, Vi Xuan Hoai is also a defendant with a bad personal record. In 2005, Hoai was sentenced to 38 months in prison for "Illegal possession of narcotics". In 2010, Hoai continued to receive a 10-year prison sentence for "Buying, selling and harboring illegal use of narcotics".
Although he was released from prison early, Hoai did not use it as a lesson to deter himself, or even to set an example for his children and grandchildren. Instead, he continued to reoffend. That is why Hoai had to serve another sentence in 2018, with a term of 6 years in prison.
In early 2022, Hoai was released from prison to live with his children and grandchildren in a house in Dua village, Luong Minh commune. This was once considered a drug hotspot in the border area. Starting his life over at the age of nearly 70, with many illnesses such as stroke... but Vi Xuan Hoai still has not turned back to good behavior. When a fellow prisoner contacted him to buy drugs, this man immediately nodded in agreement.
Accordingly, in March 2023, after learning that Hoai had been released from prison, Thanh contacted him to buy drugs to bring to Hanoi to sell. Thanh proposed to buy 3 heroin cakes and 20 packages of pink drugs, but Hoai did not agree to sell on debt, so he had to return.
Two months later, Thanh continued to contact Hoai to buy drugs. The two sides agreed on 1 heroin cake, priced at 120 million VND and 2 million VND for each package of pink drugs. Thanh would pay the seller 170 million VND in advance, the remaining amount would be paid later.
To have "goods" to sell to customers, on the afternoon of May 15, 2023, Hoai went to the hill behind his house (in Dua village, Luong Minh commune) to buy on credit from a man of unknown identity, origin, 3 heroin cakes and 16 heroin packages. After buying the drugs, Hoai brought them home to hide.
Two days later, after receiving money from Thanh through his bank account, Hoai immediately contacted Minh to hire him to deliver drugs to customers for a salary of 5 million VND. Minh also has a bad personal history with two prison sentences, including a 19-year sentence for "illegally buying and selling drugs".
Faced with the attractive offer, Minh accepted and went to get the drugs to hide at his house. When Thanh arrived in Nghe An, Minh handed over the drugs to the buyer. When checking the goods, Thanh discovered that the drugs were missing, so he called Hoai and the seller said he would compensate.
On the evening of May 18, when Nguyen Phu Long Thanh took drugs on a bus to Hanoi, he was arrested by the police along with the evidence. Expanding the investigation, on January 10 and January 15, 2024, Nghe An Provincial Police arrested and searched the homes of Vi Xuan Hoai and Kha Van Minh.
The investigation agency determined that the defendants Nguyen Phu Long Thanh, Kha Van Minh and Vi Xuan Hoai must bear criminal responsibility for buying and selling more than 1.3 kg of drugs.
A high price to pay
At the witness stand, the three defendants all admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. As the first defendant questioned by the jury, Nguyen Phu Long Thanh said he knew Hoai and Minh while in prison. After being released from prison, the defendant took a bus to Hoai's house with the intention of going to pan for gold: "Hoai said that the State now prohibits that, but there are drugs here. Therefore, the defendant asked to buy drugs to use gradually, but if anyone asked to buy, he would sell."
According to the defendant’s testimony, at first he wanted to buy drugs on credit, so Hoai refused to sell. Then he took a bus home to borrow money from relatives and friends. “I tricked people into borrowing money to buy a car for service. After collecting 170 million VND, I sent it to Hoai. Those who lent me money did not know my purpose,” Thanh said.
When asked by the jury why, when arrested by the police, the defendant did not reveal the drug dealer but gave false information, Thanh explained that he lied to the investigators out of fear. However, after being detained, realizing that his actions were wrong, the defendant confessed to his accomplices in the case. Based on the testimony of defendant Thanh, the investigation agency had grounds to arrest Hoai and Minh.
With both hands clenched on the witness stand, defendant Hoai spoke in a broken voice. He said he had a stroke and had difficulty walking and speaking. Although he had been to prison many times and understood the law, he had turned to drug trafficking for money. “I was greedy so I wanted to trade drugs to have money for medical treatment,” defendant Hoai said.
Regarding the savings books with a total amount of more than 3.5 billion VND, many "red books" and gold and silver that the investigation agency seized during the house search, defendant Hoai stated that the money came from the family's annual sale of livestock; the gold and jewelry were left by his grandparents and were not related to his drug trafficking behavior.
The defendant presented himself as being old, weak, and sick, and asked the court to give him a chance to live after hearing the representative of the People's Procuracy holding the right to prosecute at the trial request the death penalty. That was also the request for defendant Thanh.
When the jury allowed him to have his final say, at first, defendant Thanh briefly said, “I have nothing to say.” However, he later expressed remorse and tearfully asked the court to consider giving him a chance to live again and return to his loved ones.
The panel of judges determined that the defendants’ actions were dangerous to society and violated the law. In this case, the defendants committed crimes with aggravating circumstances of recidivism and large quantities of drugs, so the panel sentenced Nguyen Phu Long Thanh, Vi Van Hoai, and Kha Van Minh to life in prison.
Blinded by the illegal money from drugs, the defendants had to pay a heavy price even though they had the chance to reform and rebuild their lives. The sentences for the defendants are also a warning lesson for those who intend to embark on the path of illegal drug trafficking and possession.
