Take 2 billion VND to buy 15 kg of crystal meth

On the morning of February 24, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance criminal trial of the defendants Hoang Nghia Van (born in 1975), residing in Hung Binh ward, Vinh city; Cho Mua, also known as Mua Ba Cho (born in 1983), residing in Lac Xao town, Kham Cot district, Bolykhamxay province, (Laos) and Mua Ba Va (born in 1988), residing in Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

According to the investigation agency's documents, around March 2019, Hoang Nghia Van went to work in Ho Chi Minh City and met a woman named Nguyen Thi Ly. During the acquaintance, this woman asked Van to go to Nghe An to buy drugs, and would receive 17 million VND in wages. 1 month later, Van returned to Nghe An to live.

On May 9, 2019, Van went to Bolikhamsa province (Laos) to hold a wedding with a woman. Here, Van met Cho Mua, a cousin of his wife's family, so he asked to buy drugs and she agreed. After the wedding, Van returned to Vietnam and informed Mrs. Ly that he had found the "goods". Ly said she would send Van 2 billion VND to buy 15 kg of crystal meth (kentami). Van then contacted Cho Mua and arranged to meet in Vinh City to receive the money.

Defendants at trial. Photo: Tran Vu

On May 27, 2019, following Ms. Ly's instructions, Hoang Nghia Van went to a gold shop in Vinh City to receive 2 billion VND. Van exchanged the above amount for 80,000 USD and 80 million VND and then gave it to Mua.

The next night, Cho Mua took the money to buy drugs from a Lao man. Then, Cho Mua called Mua Ba Va to hire him to go pick up the drugs and deliver them to the customer for 2,000 USD. And agreed. On May 31, Cho Mua went into the forest to pick up drugs from the Lao man.

At 3am on June 1, Cho Mua woke Mua Ba Va up and gave him 2,000 USD in wages. Then, Mua directly drove the motorbike carrying Va, holding the drugs and sitting behind him. When the two of them moved to the center of Huong Son district, they were caught red-handed by the police.

At the same time, the police arrested Hoang Nghia Van while he was waiting to receive the "goods" in Pho Chau town (Huong Son).

At the trial, defendant Van admitted to his crime. The defendant, who had served time in prison for drug-related crimes, admitted to reoffending due to greed.

Meanwhile, defendant Cho Mua testified that he invited Mua Ba Va to go with him to receive and deliver drugs. However, Va testified that Cho Mua only invited him to go on a job and did not say he was going to transport drugs.

During the trial, the two defendants had the same defense attorney, their testimonies were contradictory and contradicted Mua Ba Va's testimony during the investigation. To ensure objectivity, the panel decided to postpone the trial and invite defense attorneys for each defendant.