Drug trafficking, former chief sentenced to death, dragged wife to prison
(Baonghean.vn) - Although he was the village chief and a person with knowledge of the law, Lau Giong Long still took the risk and traded drugs. Knowing that her husband was committing a crime, his wife, Ho Y Co, remained silent and did not report the crime.
On the morning of July 24, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial to try defendant Lau Giong Long (born 1972), residing in Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district, for the crime of illegal drug trafficking and Ho Y Co (born 1975) for the crime of failure to report a crime.
Before that, Long was elected by the villagers to be the village chief for many years. Although he was knowledgeable about the law and knew the harmful effects of drugs, Long still took the risk of drug trafficking.
According to the investigation agency's documents, on March 30, 2019, Lau Giong Long was asked by two Lao men, Vu Chua Re and Po Lau (unknown background and address), to hide 4 heroin cakes, 30 packages of methamphetamine, and 5 packages of crystal meth, asking Lau to sell them for money. With the above drugs, Long committed drug trafficking twice.
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| Two defendants at trial. Photo: Tran Vu |
The first time, on March 30, 2019, Long sold a 342.66 gram heroin cake to a man named Dung for 115 million VND. In this transaction, Long was paid 2 million VND by two Lao people.
On April 9, Long continued to carry out a second drug trafficking case. This time, Long sold two unknown men two cakes of heroin weighing 702 grams and 30 bags of Methamphetamine tablets weighing 398 grams for 320 million VND when he was caught red-handed by the Ky Son district police.
Searching Lau Giong Long's residence in Huoi Thang village, Huoi Tu commune, the investigation agency continued to seize 1 heroin cake weighing 326 grams and 5 packages of crystal drugs weighing a total of 4.944 grams.
Thus, Lau Giong Long must bear criminal responsibility for the total amount of drugs of 6,912.66 grams.
Regarding Ho Y Co (Long's wife), Long did not discuss the drug trade with her, but knew that Long received drugs from two Lao people and knew that Long had sold drugs to others twice. Although she had the means and ability, Co did not report Long's crime. Therefore, Co was prosecuted for the crime of failure to report a crime.
At the trial, the defendants admitted to the crimes as stated in the indictment. Regarding the reason for the crime, Long said that due to poverty, he took the risk of drug trafficking.
The panel of judges determined that the defendants’ actions were dangerous to society. Defendant Long, despite having been a village chief for many years and having knowledge of the law, still dealt in drugs regardless. The defendants had mitigating circumstances such as confessing honestly, committing the crime for the first time, and having a father who had contributed to the revolution and was awarded a medal.
The People's Court sentenced Lau Giong Long to death for illegal drug trafficking; sentenced Ho Y Co to 3 months and 14 days for failure to report a crime and released him immediately in court.