Drug addict sentenced to life in prison for storing drugs for more than 10 uses a day

3 times in prison but still "old habits die hard"

Nguyen Tho Hieu (born in 1981), residing in Quan Bau ward, Vinh city, was prosecuted by the Provincial People's Procuracy and brought to court for two charges: "Illegal possession of narcotics" and "Possession of military weapons". Only Hieu's wife attended the trial as a person with related rights and obligations. Due to the cold weather, she could not bring her child to "reunite with her husband".

In 2003, Nguyen Tho Hieu received his first sentence for “Illegal drug trafficking” with 7 years in prison. Thanks to his good behavior, in 2008, Hieu was released early from prison. Less than 2 years later, Hieu was sent back to prison with a 15-month sentence for “Abuse of trust to appropriate property” and “Theft of property”.

After being released from prison, Hieu only lived honestly for a short time before returning to his old ways, dreaming of getting rich with drugs. This time, Hieu was sentenced to 7 years in prison for "Illegal drug trafficking" in 2012. In September 2018, Hieu was released from prison. Nearly 35 years old, with 3 sentences on his shoulders, Hieu got married. Hieu's wife was young, exactly 12 years younger than her husband. This time Hieu went to the South to work for hire to break away from the past, but his hands were already "dipped in the ink" and it was hard to wash them clean, especially when Hieu had become a "disciple" of thebanned substancesThis.

Defendant Nguyen Tho Hieu appeared in court for the fourth time. Photo: Nhu Binh

Coming to the Central Highlands to do business, Hieu chose the Bo Y Border Gate area (Kon Tum) to start a business. The border terrain and security situation in the area bordering the three countries were complicated, so Hieu "bought" a military gun to deal with the robbers there. However, his addiction increased day by day, he burned all his earnings on drugs, and without any savings, Hieu returned to his hometown to make a living as a driver. When he returned, Hieu bought 220 grams of various drugs to use gradually.

On May 17, 2020, Hung Nguyen District Police arrested Nguyen Tho Hieu for possessing 6,000 ecstasy pills, a military gun with 4 bullets and a knife at Hieu's apartment in a luxury apartment building in Vinh City. Searching Hieu's private home, the police seized an additional 120g of crystal meth, 600 ecstasy pills, 100 ecstasy pills, 1 pistol, 1 flintlock gun, 2 ammunition boxes, 1 knife, and many other properties.

Using children as an excuse

During the investigation and trial at the court, Nguyen Tho Hieu firmly affirmed that the amount of drugs amounting to 784g was stored by the defendant for his own use, not for the purpose of buying and selling. Regarding the origin of the drugs, Hieu stated that on May 16, 2020, he accepted to take a passenger from Dong Hop commune, Quy Hop district to Nghia Lien commune, Nghia Dan district. When arriving at Nghia Lien commune, the passenger asked to stop the car to go to the restroom. “The defendant waited for a long time but did not see the passenger return, and could not call the phone number. Thinking that the passenger had "skipped" the fare of 800,000 VND, the defendant drove back to Vinh city. On the way back, he discovered that the passenger had forgotten a plastic bag, so he opened it and saw that there was a lot of drugs (567g - PV). The defendantdrug addiction"I was greedy and thought of bringing it home to use gradually because I didn't always have money to buy it," Hieu said in court.

“When the defendant’s wife gave birth, she was weak and the baby was crying. The defendant had to take care of the baby all night in place of his wife, so he had todrug usecontinuously to be sober. The defendant used a lot of drugs for a long time, so his body has a strong resistance to drugs, and using a lot does not affect his health," Hieu explained. Hieu also denied storing military weapons to fight against the authorities when discovered and arrested. Hieu repeatedly affirmed that the military weapons were purchased when he went to do business in the Central Highlands to protect himself from robbers. When he moved to Nghe An to live, the defendant brought the guns with him.

Nguyen Tho Hieu and his wife during deliberation. Photo: Nhu Binh

Although the defendant's statement about the purpose of using the drugs was found to be unreasonable, during the investigation and public trial, the authorities did not have evidence to prove that Nguyen Tho Hieu had illegally bought and sold drugs.

The panel of judges determined that the amount of drugs that Nguyen Tho Hieu was storing was very large, and that the defendant was a dangerous recidivist. The defendant had a bad personal history, and although he had been convicted many times, he did not learn from it and continued to commit new crimes, showing contempt for the law. Therefore, the defendant needed to be permanently isolated from society.

Considering the case comprehensively, on January 15, 2021, the People's Court sentenced Nguyen Tho Hieu to life in prison for "Illegal possession of narcotics"; 3 years in prison for "Illegal possession of military weapons", the combined sentence, the defendant must serve a life sentence.

Nhu Binh