Bus driver sentenced to prison for 'snatching' firecrackers from Laos to Vietnam

On the morning of June 5, the Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Nguyen Dinh Kien (born 1978), residing in Hung Dong commune (Vinh city) for the crime of "Possessing prohibited goods".

Kien was a driver for a bus company running the Nghe An - Vientiane (Laos) route. On December 29, 2018, the bus owner handed over the bus to Kien, along with full responsibility for transporting passengers from Nghe An to Laos and vice versa.

Defendant Tran Dinh Kien. Photo: Tran Vu

At 7am on December 30, Kien and two drivers went to Cau Treo Border Gate (Ha Tinh) to complete immigration procedures to enter Laos. When the bus was near a bus station in Vientiane, Kien asked a friend from Nghe An (currently living and working in Laos) to buy fireworks for him to bring back for use.

Upon arrival, Kien received fireworks from his friend. Kien put the contraband in the trunk of the passenger car to bring back to Vietnam. Although the goods had passed through Cau Treo Border Gate, at around 12 noon on January 1, 2019, when the car reached Nguyen Du Street (Vinh City), it was arrested by the Environmental Police Department (Nghe An Police). The seized evidence was many boxes containing various types of fireworks and firecrackers with a total weight of 50.25 kg.

In court, Kien confessed to all his crimes. Kien said he bought the fireworks to use during the Lunar New Year, not to sell for profit.

Considering the case comprehensively, the People's Court sentenced Nguyen Dinh Kien to 24 months in prison, suspended, for the above crime.