Nghe An Court sentenced to death a subject who trapped wild animals and 'conveniently' transported drugs

On July 19, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Tran Van Le (born 1974), residing in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district, for the crime of“Illegal drug trafficking”.

The case file shows that around June 2021, Tran Van Le went to trap wild animals in the Vietnam - Laos border area (Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong district) and met a man named Phung (Lao nationality). During the contact and conversation, this man hired Le to transport drugs from the border area to Vietnam and would be paid. Le agreed and exchanged phone numbers.

Defendant Tran Van Le was sentenced to death for transporting drugs for Lao people. Photo: Tran Vu

On December 28, 2021, the Lao people called to hire Le to transport drugs, promising to pay 25 million VND for the work. Early the next morning, Le asked his wife to drive him to Khe Cat area, Thanh Thuy commune, to trap animals and cut down giang trees. When they arrived, Le walked alone to the border area while his wife drove back home.

At noon that same day, Le arrived at the border area and waited in an abandoned shack. A while later, the person who hired him to transport the drugs appeared. Afterwards, Le and this person ate, talked, and stayed overnight at the shack.

At 12 noon on December 30, this person gave Le a bag of drugs and told him to take it home to hide, and that he would pay him when he came to get it. Le agreed and took the plastic bag and went down the hill to go home.

Afterwards, Le called his wife and asked her to take him home on the motorbike. When the motorbike reached Highway 46 in Thanh Thuy commune, the police discovered and arrested him along with more than 2 kg of various drugs.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime. The defendant said he transported the drugs for profit. However, Le stated that he had not received any payment.

The Procuracy, exercising its right to prosecute at the trial, requested the death penalty for the defendant because the amount of drugs in the case was exceptionally large. Facing death, Le begged for a chance to live.

However, considering that the defendant had transported an exceptionally large quantity of drugs, the Trial Panel sentenced defendant Tran Van Le to death.