'Carrying' many criminal records still colluding in drug trafficking
The six defendants all had bad records, having been in and out of prison many times. After being released from prison, they colluded with each other to rent a motel to trade drugs.
On July 3, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance trial of 6 defendants: Phan The Tien (born 1994), residing in Vinh Loc ward; Tran Manh Cuong (born 1994) and Tran Van Anh (born 1995), both residing in Cua Lo ward; Phan Xuan Son (born 1989) and Le Quoc Hung (born 1992), both residing in Vinh Phu ward (Nghe An) and Tran Minh Ly (born 1993), residing in Ha Tinh for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.
The defendants all have bad personal records, having been sentenced to prison for robbery, theft, illegal drug trafficking and possession, and possession of property obtained through criminal acts.
After being released from prison, these subjects contacted each other to illegally buy and sell drugs.
According to the indictment, in mid-March 2024, near Nghe An Pedagogical College, Tran Van Anh sold 0.86 grams of drugs to Phan The Tien for 2 million VND. After that, Tien discussed with Cuong that when there was a customer buying drugs, Cuong would take on the task of delivering them.
At noon on March 23, 2024, at the HT motel area (in Vinh Loc ward), Tien and Cuong sold Tran Van Tung 500,000 VND worth of drugs. That same evening, the two continued to sell Tung another 300,000 VND worth of drugs before being discovered by the police.
Expanding the investigation, the police discovered that on March 22, 2024, Tien was introduced by Le Quoc Hung to Phan Xuan Son to buy about 100 grams of crystal meth for Tien.
After that, Son contacted Tran Minh Ly to buy drugs and went with Tien to Ha Tinh to meet Ly to buy a quantity of drugs for 43 million VND.
The next day, when testing the drugs, Hung found that the quality was not guaranteed, so he went with Tien and Son to exchange the drugs. After exchanging the drugs, Tien asked Cuong to hide them to sell for profit.
Investigators examined the scene and found more than 92 grams of drugs. Continuing to check the motel, police discovered more drugs.
The investigation agency determined that the total amount of drugs for which Phan The Tien, Tran Manh Cuong, Phan Xuan Son, Tran Minh Ly, and Le Quoc Hung must bear criminal responsibility was more than 93 grams. Tran Van Anh must be responsible for the act of buying and selling 0.86 grams of drugs.
At the trial, the defendants all admitted their crimes and asked the court to consider reducing their sentences.
Considering that in this case Phan The Tien committed the crime as the mastermind, the panel sentenced him to 17 years in prison. Committing the crime as an active accomplice, the court sentenced Tran Manh Cuong and Tran Minh Ly each to 16 years in prison.
For the same crime of illegal drug trafficking, defendant Phan Xuan Son was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Defendant Le Quoc Hung was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Defendant Tran Van Anh was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison.