Using wedding gifts to traffic heroin.

On September 21st, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a criminal trial to hear the case against defendant Vi Van Diep (born in 1977), residing in Kim Son town, Que Phong district, for the crime of "illegally trading narcotics".

This is the third time Diep has appeared in court. Previously, in 1998, Diep was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Lao Cai Provincial People's Court for "illegally trading in narcotics." In 2012, Diep was again sentenced to 9 years in prison for the same crime.

In this third offense, Diep also engaged in the illegal buying and selling of narcotics.

Defendant Vi Văn Điệp received a life sentence. Photo: Trần Vũ

Specifically, on April 3, 2022, while at the market, Diep met an acquaintance named Tua (whose background and address are unknown) and struck up a conversation.

After learning that Tua was selling drugs, Diep ordered 20 packets.pink pillsTo sell for profit. Tủa quoted a price of 20 million dong and arranged a time and place for delivery. The seller made a condition: "If you don't show up at the agreed time, I won't sell you the drugs."

Fearing he would be late for the appointment the next morning, Diep rode his motorbike to the edge of the forest near the meeting point that afternoon and stayed there overnight to wait. The next morning, Diep met Tua, handed over the money, received the goods, and took them home to hide.

On April 10th, the Que Phong District Police conducted a search of Diep's residence and discovered several packages of methamphetamine weighing nearly 400 grams.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to having been imprisoned multiple times but reoffended due to difficult circumstances.

Regarding the money used to buy drugs, Diep confessed that some of it was from savings and some from wedding gifts.

Committing the crime with the aggravating circumstance of recidivism, defendant Vi Van Diep was sentenced to life imprisonment by the court for the crime of "Illegal trafficking of narcotics".