Disguised opium in a dried gourd to 'trade', received 20 years in prison

On May 22, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Tho Cha Nhia (born 1971), residing in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of“Illegal transportation of drugs”.

The case file shows that around noon on December 29, 2021, Tho Cha Nhia was in his family's field when a man came to see him, introducing himself as De, Laotian nationality.

Defendant Tho Cha Nhia was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Photo: Tran Vu

This person proposed to hire Nhia to transport 6 packages of pink heroin to an area near the workers' hut of a company in Tri Le commune, after which someone would come to receive it. De promised to pay Nhia 2 million VND for the work. Nhia immediately agreed and received the drugs from the Laotian.

To avoid detection by the authorities, Nhia put drugs inside a dry gourd shell, then stuffed two pairs of cloth pants inside, then gave them to his wife to hold. During the trip by motorbike, Nhia did not tell his wife that there were drugs inside.

That same afternoon, when approaching the drug delivery location, Nhia was arrested by the police with evidence of more than 118 grams of drugs.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to his crime. Nhia stated that he agreed to transport the heroin because he was greedy for the 2 million VND in wages. Defendant Nhia stated that in this case, his wife did not know about his drug trafficking.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. Although the defendant was fully aware that transporting drugs was a violation of the law, he still committed the act. However, it is also necessary to consider some mitigating circumstances for the defendant, such as his honest confession and remorse.

Considering the case as a whole, the People's Court sentenced Tho Cha Nhia to 20 years in prison for "Illegal transportation of drugs".