The fourth time in court, the man confessed to hiding drugs in his mother's bedroom.

Nguyen Van Cong is no longer a strange name to the people of the mountainous commune of Luu Kien, Tuong Duong district. Although he is 38 years old, Cong has been in trouble with the law three times for illegal possession of drugs, intentional injury, and theft. At the end of 2015, Cong was released from prison early. His relatives all encouraged Cong to start over before it was too late to set an example for his children who were still in school. However, he could not find a suitable job and followed his friends who were hanging around and addicted to drugs, causing Cong to continue to fall into drugs. He used all the hard-earned money to satisfy his personal needs, not only causing the family's economy to decline, but also pushing Cong further down the path of crime.

In court, Cong confessed that in early November 2019, while out in Khe Nan village, Chieu Luu commune, Nguyen Van Cong met a Mong man who called himself Cu. Because he intended to buy drugs, Cong asked the man, "Do you have drugs to sell?". Cu said he had run out of heroin and only had pink pills left, so Cong ordered 14 million VND worth of pink pills. After reaching an agreement, the two exchanged phone numbers and agreed to contact each other when they had drugs.

Two days later, the two parties carried out the drug transaction. During the delivery, in addition to the drugs ordered, Cu also gave Cong an additional package of drugs to use. After receiving the "goods", Cong brought them home and hid them in his mother Luong Thi Phong's bedroom to use gradually and wait for the opportunity to sell them for profit.

After that drug purchase, Cong continued to buy “white goods” from a man named Thai. To be sure, Cong gave Thai 1 million VND in advance to get a “sample”. According to the defendant’s testimony, while waiting to receive the new batch of “goods”, Nguyen Van Cong retailed drugs to 3 people in the same locality for use.

Defendant Nguyen Van Cong at the trial. Photo: Tran Vu

On December 21, as scheduled, Cong went to Cu village, Chieu Luu commune (Ky Son district) to receive drugs from Thai. Immediately after receiving the "goods", Cong sat down and took out the drugs to satisfy his addiction. When he was "high" on drugs, the police force rushed in and arrested Nguyen Van Cong on the spot along with all the evidence of the case. Faced with undeniable evidence, the drug trafficker had to be handcuffed.

In court, Cong explained that he hid drugs in his mother’s bedroom because he was “afraid that the children at home would find them.” Cong’s actions almost put Luong Thi Phong in trouble with the law. At the investigation agency, because Ms. Phong proved that she did not know Cong was hiding drugs, the authorities had no basis to investigate and prosecute this woman.

On the witness stand, the defendant appeared in court for the fourth time, showing remorse and asking the panel of judges to reduce his sentence because of his lack of knowledge. However, the panel of judges said that the reason given by the defendant was unacceptable, as the defendant had appeared in court many times and been imprisoned, so he could not have explained his lack of knowledge of the law.

At this point, Cóng stopped making those “choruses” and bowed his head in silence. In his final words, the defendant asked for a lighter sentence so that he could return to his two children, aged 18 and 20, soon. When mentioning his children, the defendant’s face became sad. Because of his constant legal troubles, Cóng was unable to be with his children for a long time, witnessing their growth. Even during the time when his children needed their father by their side, Cóng was unable to do so because he was… in prison.

The investigation agency determined that in this case, Nguyen Van Cong must bear criminal responsibility for 41 grams of methamphetamine and more than 10 grams of heroin. The People's Court sentenced Nguyen Van Cong to 17 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.

In this case, there are also two men named Thai and Cu. The investigation agency has verified but no one has the characteristics as Cong confessed, so there is no basis for handling. As for the 3 subjects who bought drugs from Cong, the authorities have imposed administrative penalties for illegal drug use.

Entering the prison gate when he was about to turn 40, will the 17-year prison sentence help Nguyen Van Cong realize his mistakes and find a way to be good? Only Cong can answer that question.

Tran Vu