Two individuals sentenced to over 30 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.
(Baonghean.vn) - At the trial, while Truong answered "due to lack of understanding," Toan testified that he committed the crime because a friend in Germany asked him to collect a debt, and out of deference, he did so.
On August 25th, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a trial to hear the case against defendants Nguyen Van Truong (born in 1994), residing in Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, and Dang Trong Toan (born in 1994), residing in Cong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, for the crime of "illegally trading narcotics".
According to the indictment, in mid-2022, Truong was contacted by a friend who told him there were synthetic drugs in the form of "candy." When Truong said he didn't have money, this person proactively sent over 100 pills of drugs to him to sell in Nghe An. After receiving the "goods" from his friend on a North-South bus, Truong hid them in a ditch in front of his house.
Around mid-November 2022, Dang Trong Toan was asked by a friend named Tuan (currently working abroad in Germany) to collect a debt of 4.5 million VND from Truong that he had borrowed previously.
At noon on November 20th, Toan contacted Truong to order 102 pills of narcotics (worth 7.2 million VND), requesting that the amount be deducted from the money he still owed Tuan. After receiving the "goods," Toan paid an additional 2.5 million VND and consumed 3 pills.
The following afternoon, Toan took the "goods" to the Xa Doai orange orchard area (in Nghi Dien commune, Nghi Loc district) to sell to a customer in Vinh City, but was caught red-handed by the police during a check. Based on Toan's confession, the police arrested Truong.
It is known that before this offense, Truong had been sentenced to prison twice for gambling. At the trial, when asked by the panel of judges why he reoffended after being sentenced to prison twice, Truong replied, "due to lack of understanding."
Meanwhile, Toan confessed that he committed the crime because a friend in Germany asked him to collect a debt, and out of obligation, he did so.
Defendant Toan showed a sincere attitude in his confession and presented mitigating circumstances such as having saved people from drowning, participating in volunteer teams to help flood victims in Central Vietnam, assisting people quarantined due to Covid-19, and having parents who contributed to the revolution… in order to request a reduced sentence.
After considering the role of each defendant in the case, the panel of judges sentenced Nguyen Van Truong to 16 years in prison and Dang Trong Toan to 15 years in prison for the crime of illegally trading narcotics.
