Justification of the 'perfect couple' who spent their youth in prison

Ecstasy trading "deal" at pig farm

Tran Phuc Khoi (born in 1979) and Nguyen Ngoc Tuan (born in 1983) both live in Vinh City and have a similar criminal history. Khoi was tried three times for the same crime of illegal possession of narcotics. In 2002, 2004, and 2010, Tran Phuc Khoi was sentenced to 24 months, 27 months, and 5 years in prison, respectively.

Not to be outdone, his younger brother, Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, who is 4 years younger than Khoi, has also been in court 5 times. Tuan started being imprisoned in 2002, when he was only 23 years old. That time, for the crime of theft, Tuan was sentenced to 12 months in prison. 3 years later, for the same crime, Tuan was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Also in 2005, Tuan continued to receive an additional sentence of 30 months in prison, also for the crime of theft.

After a while of getting rid of his “two-finger” habit, Tuan found another joy. This guy got into drug trafficking and was arrested by the police. Specifically, in 2012, Nguyen Ngoc Tuan was sentenced to 36 months in prison for illegal possession of drugs. 4 years later, Tuan continued to step into prison when he was sentenced to 25 months for illegal possession of drugs.

Defendant Nguyen Ngoc Tuan appeared in court for the 6th time. Photo: Tran Vu

Having spent their youth “in and out of prison”, both Khoi and Tuan have not had time to find a small family like their peers. In recent years, when they saw that Tuan and Khoi were not involved in any illegal activities, their relatives were secretly happy because they thought their children had awakened, cultivated their minds and personalities to do business. However, that joy did not last long when the pair were arrested again. This time, both were found guilty of crimes related to ecstasy.

On November 6, 2020, Khoi received a phone call from a customer ordering ecstasy. Being imprisoned three times did not discourage Khoi, but made him more determined to participate in this business. Khoi contacted Tuan and discussed finding drugs to sell to customers. The two sides agreed that Tuan would find drugs, and Khoi would contact the customers.

From his previous relationship, Tuan was able to buy 500 ecstasy pills for 75 million VND without difficulty. Due to lack of money, Tuan asked for a debt extension and the seller agreed. After that, Tuan and Khoi quoted the customer who bought ecstasy pills the price of 90 million VND for 500 ecstasy pills. After many discussions, the two sides "finalized" the price as above and set a time and place for the transaction.

According to the appointment, on the evening of November 9, 2020, Khoi and Tuan took drugs and rode a motorbike to Xuan An town, Nghi Xuan district (Ha Tinh). The two sides agreed that Khoi would stay behind to deliver drugs to customers, while Tuan would go to Ben Thuy bridge on the Vinh city side to wait for money from selling the "goods".

Khoi took the drugs to a pig farm in Xuan An town and waited for customers to pick up the goods. In the house at the pig farm, while Khoi was opening the package of drugs to look at it, a task force from Nghe An province raided and inspected it. At that time, Khoi immediately threw the package of drugs away but was discovered by the task force. The seized evidence was more than 218 grams of drugs.

At the same time, Tuan stood at the head of Ben Thuy bridge waiting to receive money from selling drugs but did not see his teammates contact him, so he became worried. When he received news that Khoi had been arrested, Tuan fled until November 10, 2020, when he turned himself in to the police.

The defense of the 6th time in court

Two defendants at trial. Photo: Tran Vu

This was the sixth time Tuan appeared before the jury, so it seemed that he was no stranger to the courtroom. This defendant clearly explained the process of committing the crime. Tuan said that because of greed, he bought ecstasy pills on credit to sell to customers. Khoi was in charge of connecting with customers to buy drugs. The two calculated that if they sold 500 ecstasy pills, they would split the money of 15 million VND.

“What is your job?”, a judge asked. Tuan answered “freelance”. “You have been in prison 5 times, why did you reoffend?”, Tuan remained silent to this question. At this time, the judge continued to ask, then the defendant answered “because of poverty”. The judge reminded the defendant of his answer. Because the defendant was nearly 40 years old, had been brought to trial 5 times but still disregarded the law and continued to commit crimes.

When questioned, defendant Khoi also blamed poverty and a difficult family for buying and selling drugs. “The defendant is over 40 years old, has been in prison many times but does not stop and continues to violate the law. What do you think about this?”, in response to the question posed by the jury, Khoi again complained of his suffering and explained that it was due to “momentary rashness”.

The two defendants' testimonies were reminded by the judge: "Know when to stop so you can repay your loved ones and start a new life. Because everyone only gets to live once, don't bury yourself in the four walls of prison...". Hearing those words of advice, both of them bowed their heads and remained silent. Many relatives of the two defendants who attended the trial and sat below also bowed their heads and remained silent.

The panel of judges determined that the criminal acts of the two defendants were dangerous to society. Although the defendants had been tried many times, they were still involved in drugs. Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Tran Phuc Khoi and Nguyen Ngoc Tuan to 20 years in prison each for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.

The 4th and 6th time entering prison with a 20-year sentence made the way back home for both defendants become distant....That is also the end of those who disregard the law, always living and dying for drugs.