The late regret of the drug lord disguised as a car washer

The cover of a drug "kingpin"

One day in late November 2020, courtroom No. 3 of the People's Court of Nghe An province was crowded with people. They were relatives of the two defendants Nguyen Van Duan (40 years old, residing in Hanh Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district) and Nguyen Van Hao (47 years old, from Bac Giang province, residing in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City). While Duan was on trial for the crime ofdrug traffickingHao went to court for transporting more than 5 kg of drugs.

Duận was an “acquaintance” at the court, as two months earlier, this defendant was also sentenced to death by the People’s Court of Nghe An province for illegal drug trafficking. At that trial, the defendant’s wife brought her three young children to court to meet their father. The image of the three children, including the youngest boy, toddling in the hallway of the court, made many people feel sorry.

Before leaving the court, defendant Duong looked down to find his wife and children. Photo: Tran Vu

At this trial, Duan’s 11-year-old eldest daughter also attended. She spoke up: “It’s been months since we last saw Dad. I see he’s still the same. I called him just now so he turned to look at me. I miss him.”

Since their mother was sitting inside with relatives, the three children played together. Being older than the two younger siblings, Duẩn’s eldest daughter seemed to understand what was going on. She listened attentively to her father’s testimony. Meanwhile, the two younger siblings played around innocently. After playing with their phones, the other two children played a game of counting the stairs in the hallway. Every now and then, they would run to the door, looking around for their father.

The image of Duong's young child playing innocently outside the court hallway made many people feel sorry. Photo: Tran Vu

Inside the courtroom, Duan clearly confessed his crime related to the sale of 5 kg of drugs. Duan stated that in March 2020, he was wanted by Nghe An police for illegal drug trafficking, so he fled to Ho Chi Minh City. There, he met Hao and hired him to go to Nghe An to transport drugs. Hao agreed, agreeing on a transportation price of 20 million VND/kg.

On April 6, 2020, Duan took 22,500 USD from Ho Chi Minh City to Nghe An to buy 5 kg of drugs. The defendant did not appear in person but hired someone else to get the drugs. After that, Duan went to Ho Chi Minh City to call Hao to go to Nghe An to transport the drugs. At 3:00 a.m. on April 22, Hao went to get the drugs and then returned to Ho Chi Minh City. When Hao drove to Ben Thuy Bridge, Vinh City, he was discovered and arrested by Nghe An Police. The evidence of the case was more than 5 kg of crystal meth. Based on Hao's testimony, Duan was arrested while hiding in Dong Nai.

Before being discovered as the "boss" of a large drug trafficking ring twice, Duan always created for himself the cover of a simple working person. Duan and his wife and children opened a small car wash in a poor rural area to hide his crimes. This man also had good relationships with his neighbors. Duan's perfect cover fooled many people. Therefore, when the news of Duan's arrest for involvement in the purchase and sale of large quantities of drugs, many people were surprised.

Message from the defendant sentenced to 2 death sentences

During the deliberation, the relatives of the two defendants moved closer to Duận and Hào, all of them sobbing. At this time, the three children of defendant Duận boldly approached and hugged their father tightly, crying. Only when witnessing the tears of his children, did Duận's eyes turn red. Duận hugged his children and gave instructions through tears. A moment later, Duận turned back to instruct his relatives: "Thank you, uncles and aunts, for taking care of and raising my three children to be good people. Don't make the same mistake as me. If I make this mistake, nothing can wash it away. I apologize to everyone." Duận's choked words of instruction made his relatives cry even louder.

Sitting next to him, defendant Hao's tears were about to flow when he met his relatives. Each word of encouragement from his family made him even more emotional, his handcuffed hands clasped tightly together. After Hao was arrested, his wife also left, and his two children are now being cared for by relatives. Therefore, at the trial, in his final words, Hao asked for a chance to live to make up for his mistakes with his children.

Defendant Duan received two death sentences, his children could only follow behind the truck crying out their father's name. Photo: Tran Vu

However, with the exceptionally large amount of drugs, considering that the rehabilitation of the defendants was no longer effective, the panel sentenced Nguyen Van Duan to death for the crime of Illegal drug trafficking. Combined with the death sentence of the previous case, the defendant Duan was forced to serve a total sentence of death. Sentenced defendant Nguyen Van Hao to death for the crime of Illegal drug trafficking. As if knowing in advance the sentence he would receive, Duan appeared quite calm. Before being led away, Duan tried to turn down to say goodbye to his relatives, wife and children.

The trial lasted until late afternoon. The fatigue was evident on the faces of the defendants’ relatives who came to court. However, they still tried to run after the covered truck to see their loved ones. The sobbing and calling of “Daddy” from the children in the large court yard made many people feel sorry. If only Duong had thought of his children before going into drug trafficking, then now the whole family would not have to part in tears...