Lost in a love story
Both Canh and Nhi had experienced a broken marriage, and it seemed like their lives would open a new page when they came together. However, instead of building a future together, they fell into a self-destructive lifestyle. Not only were they addicted to drugs, they also engaged in the trade of "white death".
Helping lover traffic drugs
The People's Court of Nghe An province has just opened a trial for the defendants Pham Thi Thanh Nhi (born in 1995, residing in Nghia Lam commune, Nghia Dan district) and Doan Tran Canh (born in 1988, residing in Nghia Hong commune, Nghia Dan district) and 3 accomplices for the crime of illegal drug trafficking. Right from the moment they were escorted into the courtroom, the two defendants whispered something to each other. In order to ensure objectivity for the trial, the panel of judges requested the court security force to separate the two defendants Nhi and Canh to sit far apart.
Pham Thi Thanh Nhi is the youngest of five children. Having never gone to school, Nhi is illiterate. She was married but the couple went their separate ways. After the divorce, their child lived with his grandparents. Nhi sought a new life and fell in love with a man who had also been divorced once, Doan Tran Canh.
Canh is a serious drug addict. This subject has been imprisoned many times for drug-related crimes. In 2009, Doan Tran Canh was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegal possession of drugs. After being released from prison, this man relapsed, so in 2014, Canh was once again sentenced to 37 months in prison.
In addition to being a drug addict, Canh is also a person who often gets into physical fights with others. He has been administratively punished twice by the government for fighting and intentionally causing injury.
Despite knowing her lover’s criminal past, Nhi still rushed into the relationship. Living with a drug addict, Nhi got hooked on the drug without realizing it. From being an addict, both of them went into the illegal drug trade. Notably, Nhi became her lover’s right-hand man in carrying out illegal acts.
According to the case file, in order to have drugs to sell for profit, Doan Tran Canh contacted Quang Thi Hiep (born in 1989, residing in Kim Son town, Que Phong district) to order 10 packages of pink phien, priced at 45 million VND. Hiep then contacted drug boss Vu Chong Po (born in 1973, residing in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district) to order the "goods".
After purchasing the drugs, on May 15, 2024, Quang Thi Hiep hid the heroin in a bag containing cucumbers and bamboo shoots and sent it to Canh by car. This man did not go directly to get the drugs but told his lover Nhi to go to the Thai Hoa town bus station to receive the "goods".
That same afternoon, Nhi went to the bus station to pick up a bag of cucumbers and bring it home to his lover. From the drugs he bought, Canh sold them to many drug addicts. In addition, Canh and Nhi used drugs many times. The drug trafficking was exposed and the couple was arrested by the police.
Based on the suspects’ statements, the authorities arrested Quang Thi Hiep and Vu Chong Po. Expanding the investigation, the police proved that, in addition to selling drugs to Hiep, Vu Chong Po also sold 3 packages of drugs to Vy Thi Tuyet (born in 1980, residing in Chau Thon commune, Que Phong district). Therefore, the authorities arrested Tuyet.
The authorities concluded that in this case, Po must bear criminal responsibility for two transactions of more than 266 grams of drugs. Hiep must bear responsibility for 204 grams of drugs. Canh and Nhi must bear responsibility for 184 grams of drugs; Tuyet must bear responsibility for 61 grams of drugs.
Bitter ending
Responding to questions from the jury, defendant Pham Thi Thanh Nhi initially stated that she was only following the instructions of her lover, defendant Doan Tran Canh. Nhi stated that because she lived with her lover, when Canh asked her to go to the bus station to receive a package sent from the mountains, she did as she was told.
According to the defendant’s testimony, when he received the bag, he did not know that there were drugs inside. He only suspected something unusual inside the bag when he handed the cucumbers to Canh and his girlfriend quickly took them into the room and closed the door. Only then did he realize that there were drugs inside the bag of cucumbers and bamboo shoots.
However, the representative of the Provincial People's Procuracy presented the defendant Nhi's self-declaration at the time of his arrest, showing that the defendant admitted that he knew from the beginning that there were drugs in the bag of cucumbers. The defendant clearly knew that Canh asked him to get the drugs, contrary to his testimony in court.
At this point, defendant Nhi admitted to the crime. The defendant said he changed his testimony because he was afraid. The defendant expressed remorse and asked the court to consider mitigating circumstances for his honest confession.
This female defendant stated that because she was addicted, she followed Canh’s instructions to get drugs to use. Furthermore, because of her difficult circumstances, being a single mother with a young child, the defendant followed Canh’s instructions to get money for her work. Nhi stated that in this case, after collecting drugs, Canh gave her 1 million VND to send home to raise her child. When mentioning her young child, the female defendant immediately bowed her head, her face showing remorse.
Also on trial, defendant Canh admitted to buying drugs to resell for profit. Regarding the money spent on drug trafficking, Canh said it came from savings. This defendant admitted that because he had been addicted for many years, the purpose of buying drugs was not only to resell but also to satisfy his personal needs.
The defendant was also imprisoned many times because of drugs. However, defendant Canh still followed in his own footsteps, plunging into drug trafficking. This defendant admitted that he had lured his lover into committing crimes. Therefore, in his final words before the court deliberated, in addition to asking the court to consider reducing his own sentence, defendant Canh also asked the court to reduce Nhi's sentence.
The panel of judges determined that the defendants’ actions violated the law. Drugs are a problem that affects health and social order and security. The defendants committed the crime of illegal drug trafficking because they lived a dissolute, idle life and disregarded the law.
After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel sentenced Pham Thi Thanh Nhi to 18 years in prison. The three defendants Vu Chong Po, Quang Thi Hiep and Doan Tran Canh each received 20 years in prison. Defendant Vy Thi Tuyet was sentenced to 16 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.
When hearing the 18-year prison sentence, defendant Nhi could not hold back her tears. She cried for the mistakes that could not be corrected, cried for her child who would have to live without a mother’s love, and cried for the dark years ahead. The sentence was not only a punishment for Nhi, but also a valuable lesson, a warning for those who are facing the temptation of drugs. Just one minute of mistake can change a whole life, must pay with long years in prison.
