2 death sentences, 1 20-year sentence in the case of 3 Nghe An subjects trafficking drugs across Vietnam
(Baonghean.vn) - Three times illegally bought and sold drugs to subjects who brought them to Ho Chi Minh City to sell for profit. The third time, the subjects forced the Nghia Dan district police to break the car window and arrest them along with the evidence of the case.
On the afternoon of July 1, 2019, the People's Court of Nghe An province sentenced Nguyen Van Toan (born 1973), residing in Bao Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, and his accomplices for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".
At the trial on June 25, 2019, the Trial Panel clarified the criminal acts of the defendants: From May to July 2018, Nguyen Van Toan, Lu Van Hai (born in 1984, residing in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district) and Ho Sy Long (born in 1975, residing in Bao Thanh commune, Yen Thanh) committed three acts of illegal drug trafficking.
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| The three defendants Long, Hai, and Toan at the trial (from left to right). Photo: Ly Duong |
The first time, in May 2018, Nguyen Van Toan hired Ho Sy Long to take Toan to Que Phong district to buy 2 heroin cakes weighing 700 grams from Lu Van Hai for 360 million VND. Then Toan brought the drugs to Ho Chi Minh City to sell to a man named Loc for a profit of 60 million VND. This time, Toan paid Long 2 million VND.
The second time, around June 2018, Nguyen Van Toan told Ho Sy Long to take Toan to Que Phong district to buy drugs from Lu Van Hai, 3 heroin cakes, for 520 million VND. Toan brought the drugs back and delivered them to Loc at the gas station in Dien Thinh commune, Dien Chau district. This time, Toan received 40 million VND and Long was paid 5 million VND by Toan.
The third time, at the end of June 2018, Loc continued to call Toan to Dien Thinh commune, Dien Chau, Nghe An to receive money to buy drugs to bring to Ho Chi Minh City to sell for profit. On June 30, 2018, Loc told Toan to meet a young man (Toan did not know his background or address) at the gas station in Dien Thinh commune, Dien Chau district to receive the amount of 525million dong to buy 3 cakes of heroin.
Toan hired Long to drive him to Que Phong district to buy 3 heroin cakes and 1kg of crystal meth from Hai. Then they both went to Yen Thanh. On the way back, the two suspects were stopped by Nghia Dan district police for inspection. Because they did not comply, the police smashed the car window and arrested the two defendants along with the evidence. This time, Toan promised to pay Long 5 million VND but did not give the money. For Hai, all three times he benefited 40 million VND.
At the trial, the defendants Toan and Long consistently denied knowing about the drug trafficking and were evasive in denying their guilt. The defendant Hai honestly confessed to all of his actions, consistent with the defendants' statements, the testimony of witnesses, documents, and evidence collected in the case file during the investigation, proving that the three defendants had illegally traded drugs three times with a total weight of 4,816 grams of various types of drugs.
Realizing that the defendants had committed drug trafficking in large quantities and committed the crime many times. Moreover, in recent times, drug crimes have become a real hot spot for the whole society, it is necessary to strongly condemn and strictly handle the defendants to educate the defendants and prevent the general public.
After assessing the nature and extent of the crimes and the personal background of the defendants, the trial panel sentenced Nguyen Van Toan and Lu Van Hai to death. With a lesser role than Toan and Hai, Ho Sy Long was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking”.