Foreign man sentenced to life imprisonment for shipping over 14 kg of drugs.
Xay Xayyasone was hired to transport over 14 kg of drugs from Laos to Vietnam. However, the "shipment" was unsuccessful as the Lao national was arrested by the Nghe An Provincial Police.
The People's Court of Nghe An province recently held a first-instance trial for defendant Xay Xayyasone (35 years old), residing in Xaychalơn village, Vieng Thong district, Bolikhamsai province (Laos), on the charge of "Illegal trafficking of narcotics".
According to the indictment, Xay Xayyasone knew a man named Bo Hat (whose identity is unknown) in Vientiane, Laos. On June 5, 2024, Bo Hat called Xay and hired him to transport approximately 10 kg of drugs to Vietnam for delivery to a customer, promising a payment of 66 million Lao Kip. Xay agreed to the offer.
At noon on June 7th, Bo Hat drove Xay to the Cau Treo border gate area (Ha Tinh province). Xay then went alone to complete the procedures to enter Vietnam. After entering the country, Xay went to a convenience store to pick up the motorbike that Bo Hat had bought earlier and rode back to Pho Chau town, Huong Son district (Ha Tinh province).
Following instructions from Bo Hat, on the evening of June 9th, Xay rode his motorbike back to the Cau Treo border gate and waited at the agreed location. There, a man handed Xay a backpack containing over 14 kg of drugs.
Xay transported the drugs to milestone H7-741 on the Ho Chi Minh Trail and hid them in a bush. Since no one claimed the drugs, Xay returned to Laos the next day, leaving the "goods" hidden in the same spot.
On the morning of July 12th, following instructions from Bo Hat, Xay returned to Vietnam to check if there were any drugs left. If there were, he was to bring them to an area near the border so that Bo Hat could send someone to retrieve them.
Upon arrival, seeing that the drugs were still there, Xay loaded them onto his motorbike to transport them back near the border. However, when he reached Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong district (formerly), he was arrested by law enforcement in Nghe An province.
At the trial, through an interpreter, the defendant admitted to transporting drugs for hire. The defendant stated that due to difficult circumstances, having lost both parents and lacking a stable job, he agreed when someone hired him to transport drugs.
The defendant claimed not to know who Bố Hạt was. Before committing the crime, the defendant was given some money by this person as travel expenses.
The court determined that the defendant's actions violated Vietnamese law and posed a danger to society. The defendant transported a large quantity of drugs for hire, therefore a severe punishment is necessary. However, some mitigating circumstances such as remorse and honest confession should also be considered.
After considering all aspects of the case, the panel of judges sentenced Xay Xayyasone to life imprisonment for the crime of "illegally transporting narcotic substances".
