Jailed for 'holding' drugs for someone else.
Having met a man through social media, Liu agreed to "hold onto" a bag for them, even though she knew it contained drugs.
The Nghe An Provincial People's Court recently held a first-instance trial to hear the case against defendant Phan Ngoc Luu (born in 1982), residing in Dien Thanh commune, Dien Chau district, for the crime of...Illegal possession of narcotics.
This is the second time this defendant has appeared in court. Previously, in 2020, Liu was sentenced to 12 months in prison for illegally possessing narcotics. Shortly after his release from prison, he reoffended.
According to the indictment, around the end of December 2023, through social connections, Phan Ngoc Luu became acquainted with a man named Sy (whose identity and background are unknown) in Vinh City.
Around the beginning of January 2024, Sy contacted Luu and said, "When I go to Dien Chau, I need your help with something." Luu asked what it was, but Sy didn't reply.
On January 18th, while Luu was having coffee at a hotel in Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district, Sy contacted him and then came to see him. When they met, Sy gave Luu a black plastic bag, telling him to keep it for a few days and someone would come to pick it up.
Upon opening the bag to check its contents, Luu discovered it was a block of heroin, so he hid it in his jacket and went home. At approximately 8:50 AM that same day, while Phan Ngoc Luu was walking, he was arrested by the police along with the evidence: 349 grams of narcotics.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime. The defendant testified that although he knew the person was asking him to take the drugs home for "safekeeping," he still did it out of deference and greed.
The defendant expressed remorse and presented difficult circumstances to request the court to consider mitigating circumstances and reduce the sentence.
Concluding that the defendant's actions violated the law, the panel of judges sentenced Phan Ngoc Luu to 17 years in prison for the crime of illegally trading narcotics.
Regarding the man named Sy, since the defendant did not know his identity or background, the authorities had no basis to investigate or prosecute him.