The man was hired to carry 1 kilo of crystal meth from Ha Tinh to Ho Chi Minh City.

On November 22, 2018, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial of Nguyen Huu Ngan (born in 1980; residing in Thanh Ngoc commune, Thanh Chuong district) for the crimes of "Illegal drug trafficking" and "Possession of military weapons". The defendant had a previous conviction for "Illegal possession of drugs" and the Court of Appeal of the Supreme People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City upheld the first-instance sentence of 15 years in prison, having completed the sentence on June 26, 2016.

Defendant Nguyen Huu Ngan listens to the court's verdict. Photo: Quynh An

According to the indictment, on May 20, 2018, Nguyen Huu Ngan met a man named Ty (unknown background and address) in Ho Chi Minh City. Ty hired Ngan to go to Cau Treo border gate (Ha Tinh province) to buy 10 kg of crystal meth to bring into Ho Chi Minh City for Ty. Ty would pay him 100,000,000 VND and Ngan agreed.

Ty gave Nguyen Huu Ngan 700 million VND to bring to Cau Treo border gate to give to a man named Sao (Lao nationality) to get drugs and 30 million VND for Ngan to travel.

On May 28, 2018, Ngan invited Le Van Thang (born in 1988), residing in block 8, Thanh Chuong town, Thanh Chuong district, to rent a car for a trip. When arriving in Vinh city, Ngan exchanged 700 million VND for 31,000 USD.

At around 8:30 a.m. on June 1, 2018, Ngan met Sao at a meeting point about 2km from Cau Treo border gate, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province. Ngan handed over 31,000 USD to Sao and Sao handed over to Ngan a black plastic bag containing drugs.

On the way, Ngan opened the bag and discovered 10 packages with a pistol and 7 bullets. Sao said it was for self-defense. At about 9:05 a.m. the same day, Ngan and Thang were arrested by a working group of Vinh City Police in coordination with Huong Son District Police and Cau Treo Border Guard Station, Ha Tinh.

According to the examination, in the black bag there were 10,012 grams of methamphetamine along with 1 K54 gun and 7 military bullets.

The panel of judges determined: Defendant Nguyen Huu Ngan's actions were serious and dangerous to society and must be strictly punished by law. Based on the aggravating circumstances of dangerous recidivism and mitigating circumstances of honest confession and his father's contribution to the revolution, the panel sentenced the defendant to death.

Mr. Le Van Thang appeared in the case with Ngan but did not know that Ngan was buying and selling drugs so he did not commit a crime. As for the men named Ty and Sao, because their specific backgrounds could not be determined, there was no basis for criminal prosecution.