Using money from selling scrap metal to traffic drugs.
(Baonghean.vn) - Nguyen Thi Phuong confessed to using money from buying and selling scrap metal to traffic drugs. Notably, this woman in her 70s has already been imprisoned three times.
On October 17th, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial to hear the case against defendant Nguyen Thi Phuong (67 years old), residing in Chau Kim commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of "illegally trading narcotics".
Phuong is a defendant with a bad criminal record, having previously served three prison sentences of 8, 5, and 9 years for drug-related offenses.
Regarding this case, according to the indictment, in April 2023, Phuong met a Hmong man who said he had drugs. On May 13th, Phuong contacted the man by phone to order the "goods".
Late that afternoon, Phuong hired a motorbike taxi to the meeting point to buy 7 packages of drugs, totaling over 116 grams (priced at 3.5 million VND). Phuong paid 1 million VND upfront and asked to defer payment for the remaining amount.
Later, Nguyen Thi Phuong was contacted by an unidentified man who wanted to buy drugs. She agreed and took a bus to Dien Thinh commune, Dien Chau district, to sell the drugs.
At noon on May 15th, while Phuong was standing in front of the gate of Dien Thinh Commune Kindergarten in Dien Chau District, waiting for customers to pick up the "goods," she was arrested by the police along with the evidence: 5 packages of drugs.
After the authorities brought Phuong back to the detention center.detentionThey found a packet of drugs in her bra. During a search of Phuong's house, the police seized another packet of drugs hidden under the bed.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime. Phuong stated that he made a living by buying and selling scrap metal. Therefore, the money he used to buy drugs came from the money he earned selling scrap metal.
The defendant presented her difficult circumstances, including illness and the death of her husband, to request the court to consider mitigating her sentence, so that she could return home to live with her children and grandchildren and rebuild her life.
After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel of judges sentenced the defendant Nguyen Thi Phuong to 20 years in prison for the crime of "illegally trading in narcotics".
