The late regret of the deputy party secretary who trafficked in drugs

(Baonghean.vn) -“I can’t explain why I did that. Maybe I was too greedy! I lost too much, was expelled from the Party, was no longer allowed to be a cadre, had to go to jail…”, Gia Ba Co hung his head.

After completing intermediate level of archival work, Gia Ba Co (born in 1983, residing in Doc May commune, Ky Son district) continued to study intermediate level of land administration, then returned to the commune to work as a contract officer, in charge of policy and was elected as Deputy Secretary of the village Party cell.

Old Stork

Wishing to become a civil servant, Gia Ba Co studied part-time at the University of Law. The path to fame seemed to have opened up before his eyes, but Co himself cut it short when he fell into the path of illegal drug trafficking.

When Gia Ba Co (born in 1983) was arrested by the provincial Border Guard's anti-drug force while carrying 3,400 synthetic drug pills, Mr. Lau Ba Va - Chief of Police of Doc May Commune (Ky Son) exclaimed: "When I received the news that Gia Ba Co was arrested, I could not believe it. Co is a prestigious person in the village, has a Law University degree, is the Deputy Secretary of the Party Cell of Huoi Vieng village, a policy officer, a local resource officer.

Completing his professional work well, Co also has many achievements in protecting security and order in border areas, and was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Provincial Border Guard Command. I cannot understand why a person with a bright future like Co would choose to follow that path because Co's family is not poor.

Old Ba Co is short and stocky, agile, especially talkative and quite open. Co confided that his family has 8 siblings, his parents are farmers, poor but wholeheartedly take care of their children. 7 out of 8 Co siblings were sent to school by their parents until grade 12. Besides Old Ba Co, there is also 1 older brother and 1 younger brother who are currently working at the People's Committee of Doc May commune.

Gia Ba Co was sent by his parents to the city to study at the provincial boarding school for ethnic minorities. Failing the university entrance exam, Co studied at the intermediate level of archival documents, then studied at the intermediate level of land administration, then returned to work in his hometown, got married and had children. Working as a contract officer in charge of policy work, with a monthly salary of more than 2 million, Co wanted to be on the payroll for more stability, so he went to study law part-time. In this border area, having the will to study like Co was probably rare. But then, Co himself turned his career path to a darker turn.

At the end of March 2016, a man named Cuong, from Do Luong, met Co and ordered 7 packages of heroin. On March 30, 2016, Co went to Laos and found a person who agreed to sell him 7 packages of heroin for 24.5 million. Co informed Cuong that he had found the goods and agreed on the price, and said that there were 10 packages of heroin that the Lao people wanted to sell, the price would not change. Cuong agreed to buy them all. For each package of heroin sold to Cuong, Co would make a profit of 500,000 VND. With 17 packages of heroin (about 3,400 pills), Co would have a considerable amount of money.

Pink film (illustrative photo)

On the night of March 31, Co and the Laotians crossed the forest to the meeting place to deliver drugs to Cuong, but were discovered by the border guards of Na Loi Border Post and arrested. Cuong and the Laotians escaped, while Gia Ba Co was arrested with 17 packages of opium hidden in his shirt.

In addition to the salary of a policy officer, the couple also grows crops and raises buffalo and pigs, so compared to the average living standard of the people in Doc May commune, Co's family has never had to face poverty. However, with the profits from drug trafficking, Co could not keep himself.

Standing before the bar, Gia Ba Co confessed sincerely, admitting to the crimes as stated in the indictment. When given his final words, Gia Ba Co earnestly hoped to receive leniency from the law so that he could soon return to his wife to take care of and educate his children, and strive to become an honest person. “The defendant promises to try to reform himself well, and after being released from prison, he will not re-offend or commit any illegal acts. After being released from prison, even if he is no longer a cadre, he must be a good citizen to raise his children,” said Gia Ba Co.

Applying point m, clause 2, Article 194 of the Penal Code along with other mitigating circumstances (sincere confession, being awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Border Guard for achievements in border protection...), the People's Court sentenced Gia Ba Co to 7 years in prison.

“It was all my fault for being too greedy. It’s too late to regret, I can only blame myself…”, Gia Ba Co confided.

Nhu Binh