Despite being sick, he still sneaked into the forest in the middle of the night to buy drugs to sell.

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite having a prior conviction for illegal drug trafficking and being ill, Dương, lured by the large profits from drugs, rode his motorbike to the meeting point in the middle of the night, asking someone to lead him into the forest to buy drugs to sell.

Nguyen Ngoc Duong (born in 1967), residing in Bong Khe commune, Con Cuong district, is the sixth child in a family of eight siblings. Coming from a poor family with many children and lacking ambition, Duong only studied until the third grade before dropping out. Duong married and had four children in quick succession.

Despite being the father of four children, Duong not only failed to set a good example for his children but also ran into trouble with the law and was sentenced to 15 months in prison by the Nghe An Provincial People's Court for "disturbing public order" in a trial in early 1996, when his youngest child was only two years old.

Nguyen Ngoc Duong (left) and Nguyen Dinh Van at the trial.

After being released from prison, unemployed and unwilling to reform, Duong continued down the path of crime. In 2006, Duong was sentenced by the Provincial People's Court to 6 years in prison for illegally trafficking narcotics.

One might have thought that two stints in prison would teach Duong a lesson and make him mend his ways. However, those two prison sentences significantly increased Duong's notoriety in the eyes of those just starting out in life, including Hoang Dinh Van (born in 1976, residing in Xuan Son commune, Do Luong district).

One day in early 2016, Van received a phone call from a "brother" from Thanh Hoa, asking Van to help him find and buy a block of heroin. Knowing that Duong had previously dealt in this drug, Van called him to discuss the matter and asked for his help. Duong agreed.

Having found a supplier, Duong called Van to inform her. Van told her supplier to bring the money to pick up the goods. On the afternoon of January 25, 2016, Van, carrying 180 million VND, rode her motorbike to Duong's house. However, because Duong was sick and unable to go pick up the goods, Van had to stay at Duong's house to wait.

Despite not having fully recovered from his illness, as agreed, on the evening of January 31, 2016, Duong rode his motorbike from Bong Khe to the Cho Moi area (Ban Ve, Tuong Duong). Duong hired two men to guide him into the forest for 2 million dong. Deep in the forest, Duong met a man named Bo and bought one block of heroin from him for 132 million dong and three sticks of heroin for 38 million dong.

For a large transaction, Bo generously gave Duong an additional 7 pills of synthetic drugs. After receiving the goods, Duong rode his motorbike home in the early morning, woke Van up, and gave her one block of heroin as previously agreed. Duong kept the remaining drugs to sell retail for profit.

After receiving a block of heroin from Duong, Van concealed it on her person and drove her motorbike south. Upon reaching Cam Son commune (Anh Son district), Van was discovered and caught red-handed by the provincial police's anti-drug crime force. Based on Van's confession, the investigating agency searched her house and arrested Nguyen Ngoc Duong urgently.

At the trial on the morning of July 26th, Duong and Van admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. The panel of judges determined that in this case, Nguyen Ngoc Duong was responsible for the illegal trafficking of 1 block of heroin weighing 351.11g, 3 sticks of heroin weighing 107g, and 0.68g of synthetic drugs. Hoang Dinh Van was responsible for 351.111g of heroin (equivalent to 1 block).

Based on the roles and positions of each defendant in the case, as well as the quantity of narcotics involved in the illegal trafficking, the court sentenced Nguyen Ngoc Duong to 19 years in prison and Hoang Dinh Van to 16 years in prison.

Nhu Binh