While the husband is in prison, the wife stays home and 'ships' drugs.
Since her husband went to prison for drug-related crimes, Loan has been raising her children and visiting him while he serves his sentence all by herself. Therefore, this woman surely understands best what it's like to have a family member in jail. Yet, she followed in her husband's footsteps and committed drug-related crimes. Now, Loan is paying the price for her illegal actions, leaving her children orphaned.
Using his mother's car to "ship" drugs.
The trial of defendant Nguyen Thi Phuong Loan (31 years old), residing in Hung Dung ward, Vinh City, for the crime of "Illegally transporting narcotics," was attended by only a few relatives. This is because the defendant's family is quite small. Loan's husband, born in 1986, is currently serving a prison sentence at a prison in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province.
Loan's husband was imprisoned when their children were young, so for many years she was the sole breadwinner. Raising her children alone, without a stable job, Loan had to rely on relatives, especially her parents. But then her father passed away, leaving Loan with only her mother to cling to and rely on.
Even though her husband was serving a prison sentence, Loan maintained contact with an acquaintance of his named Trung (whose background is unknown). On the afternoon of April 4, 2024, Trung contacted Loan via social media, hiring her to transport drugs from Hanoi to Vinh City and deliver them to a client. The client offered a "shipping" fee of 20 million VND. Without hesitation, Loan accepted.
To prepare for the rather long journey, this woman proactively planned ahead. Loan contacted a male friend, inviting him to go to Hanoi with her, but without mentioning the purpose of transporting drugs. Afterward, she used her mother's car as transportation. At 11 PM that same day, Loan and her friend traveled to Hanoi by car.
The next morning, upon arrival, her friend stayed at the guesthouse while Loan contacted Trung to receive the drugs. Loan drove alone to the meeting point, met a man wearing a mask to receive the package of drugs. After obtaining the "goods," Loan put them in the car and returned to Nghe An with her friend to deliver them to the customer.
However, this woman's exorbitantly priced "delivery" trip failed to reach its destination. When Nguyen Thi Phuong Loan arrived at the Bac Vinh Bus Station (in Nghi Kim commune, Vinh City), she was arrested by the police along with over 434 grams of drugs.
Wife follows husband into prison.
For the aforementioned crime, Loan was prosecuted and brought to trial for the crime of illegally transporting narcotics. Before the court, the defendant admitted to transporting drugs for hire for her husband's friend. She stated that she did not know the identity of this person. During communication, she messaged and called Trung via Zalo. After receiving the drugs, she deleted all messages and Zalo contact information from that man on her phone.
Justifying her crime, the female defendant stated that she did it to earn money to support her two young children (ages 9 and 5). Her husband was arrested when their second child was very young, so for many years she had to raise them alone. Loan and her children lived in an apartment in Nghi Phu commune, Vinh City. Without a stable job and associating with some of her husband's friends, Loan became involved with drugs. Now, with her hands cuffed, she feels remorse, especially when mentioning her children.
Before the witness stand, the defendant expressed remorse and asked the court to consider mitigating circumstances so that she could return home to care for her two young children. Since her mother's arrest and her father's imprisonment, the defendant's two children have relied on relatives for care. Therefore, when she met her mother in the courtroom, Loan did not forget to inquire about her children and asked her mother to look after them while she served her sentence.
During the few minutes she was allowed to see her daughter in court, the mother repeatedly offered words of encouragement to the defendant. First her son-in-law, then her daughter, going to prison for drug-related offenses had multiplied her grief many times over. She felt sorry for them, but also angry at her daughter and son-in-law. Their involvement with drugs had cost both her daughter and son-in-law dearly…
Returning to the case, the panel of judges determined that the defendant's criminal act was dangerous, not only directly violating the State's regulations on the management and use of narcotic substances, negatively impacting local security and order, but also being one of the causes of social evils and other types of crime.
The defendant was aware that transporting narcotics illegally was against the law, but still intentionally committed the crime, therefore a severe punishment is necessary. However, some mitigating circumstances such as honest confession and remorse should also be considered.
After a comprehensive review of the case, the court sentenced Nguyen Thi Phuong Loan to 20 years in prison for illegally transporting narcotics. Regarding the man named Trung, because the defendant did not know his identity or background, the investigating agency had no basis to prosecute him. The court also ordered the return of the car to the defendant's mother because she was unaware of her daughter's actions.