Foreign man exchanges 300 thousand dong 'for' 9 years in prison
(Baonghean.vn) - A Lao man agreed to transport drugs and firecrackers from across the border into Vietnam for a fee of 300,000 VND.
On May 20, the People's Court of Nghe An province held the first instance trial of Thao Phenh Va (born in 1971, residing in Nam Tay village, Vieng Phan village cluster, Sam To district, Hua Phan province, Lao People's Democratic Republic) for the crimes of "Illegal transportation of drugs" and "Transport of prohibited goods”.
According to the indictment, at about 6:00 p.m. on December 22, 2023, in the area of Muong Phu village, Thong Thu commune (Que Phong district, Nghe An), the working group of Thong Thu Border Guard Station and Hanh Dich Border Guard Station (Nghe An Border Guard Command) discovered and caught Thao Phenh Va red-handed while transporting 12.9 grams of drugs and 9.5 kg of firecrackers.
Thao Phenh Va confessed that he had transported the above drugs and firecrackers for 2 Vietnamese people (unknown background and specific identity) from Laos to Vietnam for a fee of 300,000 VND.
At the trial, Thao Phenh Va admitted to the crime as charged in the indictment. The defendant explained that he was sick, his family was poor, and his children were still young, so when someone hired him to transport drugs and firecrackers across the border, he agreed without foreseeing the consequences.
Defendant Va hopes to receive leniency from Vietnamese law so that he can soon have the opportunity to return to Laos to live and raise his children.
Considering the case as a whole, the first instance trial panel sentenced Thao Phenh Va to 7 years in prison for “Illegal drug trafficking” and 2 years in prison for “Trafficking in prohibited goods”. In total, defendant Thao Phenh Va must serve a sentence of 9 years in prison.
