Nghe An: 2 death sentences, 1 life sentence for subjects in a "huge" drug ring

On the morning of April 11, a case involving a transnational drug trafficking ring with a huge quantity of drugs was brought to trial.

The three defendants are Pham Van Hung (born in 1970), residing in Phu Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district and Lo Van Sao (born in 1983), residing in Luc Da commune, Con Cuong district, were prosecuted for "illegally buying and selling drugs", defendant Pham Van Tung (born in 1990), residing in Phu Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, was prosecuted for "illegally transporting drugs".

Defendant Pham Van Hung - the leader of the transnational drug ring. Photo: PT

The leader of this trafficking ring is Pham Van Hung (nicknamed "Hung the Fugitive") - a man who has escaped from prison three times and has 20 years of "seniority" in prison. At the age of 22, Pham Van Hung was sentenced to 6 years in prison for "Robbery of citizens' property" and "Theft of citizens' property".

Hung then escaped from prison and was recaptured. This time, Hung was sentenced to 2 years in prison by the Nghe An Provincial People’s Court for “Escape from Prison”, increasing his sentence to 8 years in prison.

Hung escaped from prison before serving half of his sentence. After escaping, Hung committed a robbery and was arrested.

In 1996, the People's Court of Nghe An province sentenced Pham Van Hung to 15 years in prison for "Robbery of citizens' property" and 4 years in prison for "Escape from prison". Hung was transferred to Thanh Hoa to serve his sentence, but less than 4 months later, he committed another prison break. This time, the People's Court of Thieu Hoa district (Thanh Hoa) sentenced Pham Van Hung to 5 years in prison for "Escape from prison" in addition to his previous sentence.

In June 2011, Pham Van Hung finished serving his sentence. However, old habits die hard, Hung continued to fall into the path of crime, establishing a drug trafficking network from Laos to Vietnam. With a notorious past, Hung is considered a gangster boss in Yen Thanh. The drug network run by Hung was formed in 2015 with the support of Pham Van Tung - Hung's nephew.

Hung’s drug supplier was in Laos. Hung hired Lo Van Sao – a former illegal logger who was familiar with the terrain – to directly deliver money to the seller and receive drugs from the Vietnam-Laos border area and bring them deep into the interior before delivering them to Hung.

Defendant Pham Van Tung (left) and defendant Lo Van Sao (right) in court. Photo: PT

After many successful deals, earning huge profits, in June 2017, Hung decided to "cast a big net", ordering 20 heroin cakes, 1kg of crystal meth and more than 1kg of synthetic drugs for 153,000 USD from a Laotian trader. Hung paid 70,000 USD and 300 million VND in advance, the rest would be paid after selling the goods.

According to Hung's assignment, on September 30, 2017, Lo Van Sao went to the Vietnam - Laos border area in Anh Son district to give money and receive drugs from Lao people. In the early morning of October 1, 2017, after receiving the drugs from Sao, Hung told Pham Van Tung to transport the drugs downstream by motorbike, while Hung would drive the car ahead to keep watch.

When arriving at Nam Son commune, Do Luong, Hung and his nephew were arrested with 20 heroin cakes (equivalent to 7kg) and more than 2.1kg of crystal meth and synthetic drugs. The value of the drugs that the subjects bought and sold was estimated at nearly 3 billion VND. That same morning, Lo Van Sao was also arrested.

At the trial on the morning of April 11, all three defendants admitted to their crimes. The panel of judges found the actions of defendants Pham Van Hung and Lo Van Sao to be particularly dangerous, and sentenced them to the highest penalty of death. Defendant Pham Van Tung, for "illegally transporting narcotics," was sentenced to life in prison.