The late regret of a young woman who hid drugs in her underwear

Unique trick to hide drugs inlingerie

Ha Thi Thanh (36 years old), is Thai ethnic, born and raised in Muong Noc commune, Que Phong district. Having dropped out of school early, Thanh got married at the age of 17 to a man 4 years older than her. But after only a few years of living together, unable to stand her drunken husband who often "beat and punch" her when drunk, Thanh took her young child back to her maternal grandparents' house. After a while, the two signed a divorce petition, and Thanh raised the young child.

However, life in her hometown without a job put a lot of pressure on the single mother. Therefore, Thanh decided to go to the South to work as a factory worker to earn money. From there, Thanh met a young man of the same age from Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh. After living together, the two had two more children.

Ha Thi Thanh confided that in order to have enough money to take care of the family, the couple had to send their young child back to the countryside for their grandparents to take care of. In 2015, while working for hire, Thanh met a woman named Vinh (from Dien Chau district). The two often exchanged and talked to each other through social networks.

After a while, in early 2023, Thanh and Vinh texted each other via social media. Thanh told Vinh that there were many drug dealers in her hometown. Therefore, on the night of March 22, 2023, Vinh called Thanh to ask to buy 4 packages of pink drugs, agreeing on the price of 20 million VND. Thanh asked Vinh to pay 10 million VND in advance and the buyer agreed.

The next morning, Thanh took a bus from Ha Tinh to Que Phong district to buy drugs. When arriving at the Cau Loi gas station (in Dien Hong commune, Dien Chau district), Thanh got off the bus to meet Vinh and took 10 million VND.

At noon that same day, after stopping by his mother's house for lunch, Thanh went to the cemetery in the commune to get drugs. Thanh hid the drugs in his underwear and then took a bus back and forth. However, while Thanh was waiting for a customer to pick up the drugs, he was arrested by the police with nearly 80 grams of methamphetamine as evidence.

Late Apology

The trial of the defendant Ha Thi Thanh for the crime of illegal drug trafficking was attended by only a few relatives. The defendant repeatedly turned her head to look for her husband, children and paternal family but saw no one. Only her thin mother with gray hair sat sadly in the back, holding her face.

The defendant answered clearly to the questions of the jury. Thanh stated that he knew Vinh in the South. After a while, when he met her again, he saw that her life was getting better and better, so he asked her about her business. When she told him that drug trafficking would make money quickly, the defendant began to think about trading in that banned substance.

When the couple became unemployed, they returned to their hometown and Vinh ordered drugs for them, so they agreed. The female defendant confessed that if the transaction was successful, she would earn 10 million VND. “I intended to use that money to buy milk for my children and pay for their education,” Thanh justified her actions.

The female defendant said that currently her three children are of school age, the youngest of whom is only 5 years old. “When I was arrested, I just wanted to die. During my detention, I always felt guilty towards my family, husband and children, especially my child who is in kindergarten. I felt so stupid that I had to pay such a huge price for just a few coins. This is an expensive lesson for me,” defendant Thanh said, bursting into tears.

Because her husband and children were not present in court, the female defendant could only pour out her feelings to her suffering mother. Seeing her mother cry, Thanh kept apologizing. At the same time, she told her mother to try her best to help take care of her grandchildren while she was in prison. Hearing her son's words of advice and remorse, the mother could only nod, raise her skinny, dark hands to cover her face and cry.

As for the defendant Ha Thi Thanh, because of her own mistakes, she had to pay the price with a 16-year prison sentence. This sentence was given by the panel of judges after considering a number of mitigating circumstances for the defendant such as her honest confession, repentance, being an ethnic minority, limited legal awareness, low educational level...

The trial ended, Thanh sadly left. The 16-year prison sentence meant that for the rest of her life, when her youngest child was in school, Thanh would not have the opportunity to tutor her child every evening like other mothers. That pain, along with the sudden sound of the drum at the school near the provincial court, made Thanh's eyes red.