Foreigner sentenced for 'carrying' drugs across Nghe An border
Va Xenh Tho was hired by a person to transport drugs from Laos to Vietnam. When he crossed the border into Nghe An, he was arrested by the Border Guard.
On November 20, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance trial of defendant Va Xenh Tho (born 1993), residing in Huoi Pa village, Muong Duong village cluster, Muong Quan district, Hua Phan province, Lao PDR, for the crime of ""Illegal transportation of drugs".
According to the case file, at around 8:00 p.m. on May 31, 2024, Va Xenh Tho was working in the fields near his home when a man named Tong Tho (unknown identity and background) came to discuss hiring him to transport a bag of drugs to the Vietnam border, for a fee of 20 million Lao kip. Facing the attractive promise, Va Xenh Tho agreed.
At 4:00 a.m. on June 1, Va Xenh Tho walked to the agreed location. Then, this young man went with Tong Tho to the Laos-Vietnam border. At this time, Tong Tho gave Va Xenh Tho a bag containing drugs.
Va Xenh Tho carried a backpack on his back and walked across the Vietnam border. At about 5 a.m. the same day, when the "transporter" reached the road in My Ly commune, Ky Son district, he was arrested by the Nghe An Provincial Border Guard with more than 648 grams of drugs.
At the trial, the defendant initially denied the crime. He said he agreed to transport the goods but did not know they contained drugs. Later, he changed his testimony and admitted to transporting the drugs for profit.
The defendant presented his difficult circumstances, illiteracy, and being a foreigner to ask for leniency under Vietnamese law.
After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel sentenced the defendant Va Xênh Thò to 20 years in prison for the crime of Illegally transporting narcotics. As for the person who hired the defendant to transport the narcotics, because Va Xênh Thò did not know the identity and background of the person, the investigation agency had no basis to prosecute him.