Repeat offender sentenced to 15 years in prison for drug trafficking.
Having been imprisoned once before for drug trafficking, Lam invested a large sum of money this time to buy heroin for resale, but he was caught before the "goods" could be shipped.
On December 12th, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial to hear the case against defendant Phan Thanh Lam (born in 1993), residing in Hanh Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district (Nghe An province), for the crime of "Illegal trafficking of narcotics.
This is the second time this defendant has committed a drug-related crime. Previously, in 2019, this young man was sentenced to 24 months in prison for illegally trafficking narcotics. After serving his prison sentence, Lam returned to his hometown but later "reoffended".
According to the indictment, on the afternoon of July 23, 2024, Phan Thanh Lam took a bus to Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district, with the intention of buying drugs. When he met a Hmong man standing by the roadside, Lam asked to buy 18 million dong worth of drugs. After handing over the money, Lam waited for about 30 minutes, then the man returned and handed him a plastic bag containing white powder.
Lam took the drugs home and hid them for personal use and to sell gradually. On the morning of July 26th, a man contacted Lam asking to buy one block of heroin (approximately 35 grams) for 25 million VND. Lam agreed and arranged a time and place for the drug transaction.
At 12 PM the same day, Lam put the drugs inside a cigarette pack and rode his motorbike to the meeting point to sell them. However, he was discovered and arrested by authorities en route. The evidence seized in the case was over 43 grams of drugs.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. The defendant admitted to buying drugs for personal use and reselling them to addicts. The defendant requested the court to consider mitigating circumstances and reduce the sentence.
The court determined that the defendant's actions violated the law and were dangerous to society, therefore, Phan Thanh Lam was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the crime of illegally trading narcotics.
