Behind the drug trafficking sentence while in prison, the 'boss' dragged his wife into legal trouble

The father "stuck"

Born and raised in a farming family in Quynh Khoi hamlet, Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, Nguyen Xuan Chien (born in 1981) showed his intelligence and cleverness since childhood. However, Nguyen Xuan Chien did not focus on studying but dreamed of getting rich. Realizing that studying was not for him, in 11th grade, Chien dropped out of school to work and earn money. As time passed, Chien fell in love with his classmate Nguyen Thi Vinh, who always encouraged and shared with him in life. The student love that had been nurtured through many difficulties was now big enough, Chien decided to propose and Vinh accepted.

Living together under the same roof, although both sides of the family helped, the couple did not have stable jobs so their life was still precarious. Life was already difficult and now it became even more difficult when Vinh gave birth to 3 daughters in a row. Already having just enough to eat, now with so many expenses to take care of the children, Nguyen Xuan Chien always had a worry in his heart.

What must come must come, with the desire to have money quickly, to change his life soon but not wanting to work, one time listening to his friends' instigation, Chien got involved in drugs. Money that comes quickly without having to work hard made Nguyen Xuan Chien not think twice.

The price to pay was that in 2013, Chien was sentenced by Anh Son District People's Court to 30 months in prison for the crime of "Illegal possession of narcotics".drugIn 2016, Chien finished his prison term. It seemed that the time in prison without a wife or children was enough to make Chien enthusiastic about business, but he continued to "go back to his old ways".

In August 2017, Nguyen Xuan Chien was arrested again for his involvement in a drug trafficking case. This time, Chien was sentenced to 19 years in prison and transferred to serve his sentence at a prison of the Ministry of Public Security in Quang Binh province. However, during his time in prison, Chien still showed his cunning, the temptation of money was too great, causing him to plot a more daring plan.

Thinking that prison was the safest place, Nguyen Xuan Chien directly directed his "disciple" Vo Van Ha and his wife to illegally buy and sell drugs.

Accordingly, while serving his sentence at Dong Son Prison (Quang Binh), Chien hid and brought two phones into his cell. He immediately contacted Tran My Chien to discuss selling drugs and she agreed to buy 10 packets of pink phien each time.

After contacting the drug seller and buyer, Chien called his wife, Nguyen Thi Vinh, and said, “Can I do this one more trip?” After learning that her husband intended to buy and sell drugs, Vinh advised him, “Your sentence is still long, now let’s accumulate merit to have a son.” However, Chien did not listen and continued to do as she pleased.

On July 30, 2017, Chien contacted Vo Van Ha to discuss going to Cau Treo Border Gate (Huong Son District, Ha Tinh) to deliver drugs to a Lao man. Ha agreed, and Chien also directed his wife, Nguyen Thi Vinh, to prepare money for Ha.

On July 30, 2017, Chien contacted his “disciple” Vo Van Ha to discuss going to Cau Treo Border Gate, Huong Son District, Ha Tinh Province to buy drugs from a Laotian man, and Ha agreed. After that, Ha rented a car to go to the meeting point to pick up a black bag containing more than 2 kg of synthetic drugs and 1 cake of heroin.

On the way back, when arriving at Son Tay commune, Huong Son district, he was discovered and arrested by the authorities. Searching Vinh's house and the land managed by the couple, the Nghe An Provincial Police Department discovered a newly dug-up plot of land with suspicious signs. During the inspection, the investigation team discovered an electronic scale, 2 mobile phones, a white potylene bag containing brown crystals, and 7 identical white potylene bags containing white crystals. During the investigation, Chien confessed that the crystal substances seized by the authorities were methamphetamine, which he kept for sale before being arrested by Quang Binh Provincial Police.

The pain of children

The trial of the defendants Nguyen Xuan Chien, Vo Van Ha and Nguyen Thi Vinh for the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking” took place at the end of 2013 and lasted for 5 sessions.

To ensure objectivity, the panel of judges separated each defendant during the interrogation. While Ha admitted to all the crimes as well as the indictment, Chien only admitted to buying and selling 10 packages of pink pills and the drugs buried in his garden were "goods" that had not been sold in the previous batch. Chien denied any involvement in the 1 cake of heroin that the police seized from Ha. He said that he only told Ha to go to his wife to get 12,000 USD, 3 million VND in cash and told his wife to "run the case" for him. Chien insisted on Vinh's innocence: "The defendant's wife did not know that her husband was a drug dealer. She only thought that the money she gave Ha was to "run the case" for the defendant."

Meanwhile, Vinh appeared very confused when listening to the jury's questioning. Vinh said: "The defendant gave money to Ha to do business. The defendant did not know that the drugs were buried in the garden."

However, the representative of the Nghe An People's Procuracy, who held the right to prosecute at the trial, said that the indictment had prosecuted the right person and the right crime. The first-instance panel determined that the case file showed that the defendant Vinh knew that her husband was a drug dealer and knew that the money given to Ha was for drug trafficking, so the indictment charging the defendant Vinh as an accomplice with the role of assisting was correct. Based on the role, level of crime and aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced the defendant Nguyen Xuan Chien to life in prison and Nguyen Thi Vinh to 7 years in prison for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

Since their parents went to prison, the three daughters of Nguyen Xuan Chien and Nguyen Thi Vinh have been taken care of by their grandmother. As the eldest sister and understanding her family's situation, L. takes care of her younger siblings and tries to help her grandmother. Only at the end of this year, Vinh will probably be released early from prison because of good behavior, and she will be able to return to her children to make up for the time they lacked the love of both their father and mother. However, is this sentence enough for Nguyen Xuan Chien to repent and reform? Chien spent most of his life immersed in the smoke of intoxication and received a bitter ending. This is not only a lesson for Nguyen Xuan Chien but also a lesson for many people who have and are intending to change their lives illegally thanks to drugs...