Paying a high price for falling into drugs
Lu Van Duc had to pay a heavy price for falling into drug addiction. Not only did he face a prison sentence, Duc also had to be away from his children, becoming a burden to his parents when they were old.
Drugs found in parents' house
Lu Van Duc (34 years old), residing in Chau Phong commune, Quy Chau district (Nghe An) is the youngest of four siblings. After getting married, Duc was given a piece of land by his parents to live on. Duc and his wife built a small house on that land.
Even though he had a house, the young father was not interested in working to take care of his family, especially his two young children. Lu Van Duc followed bad friends and got into drugs without realizing it.
Since Duc got involved in drugs, the family economy has been declining. The relationship between husband and wife has also been more or less damaged when he became addicted and dissolute. His working days have also gradually decreased, replaced by his love of playing and loitering. After a while, Duc and his wife divorced.
Since his marriage broke down, the man became more addicted to drugs. Initially, it was just to satisfy his personal needs, but then Duc got involved in illegal drug trafficking.
On the afternoon of December 3, 2024, Lu Van Duc walked up the hill in Pao village, Quang Phong commune, Que Phong district to buy drugs to resell for profit. In the middle of the forest, Duc met a Mong man and bought 1 package of heroin and 1 package of opium for nearly 11 million VND.
Duc brought the drugs he bought home and divided them into many packages. He took a small amount and hid it on his bed, and hid the rest in the house of his parents, Mr. Lu Van K. (65 years old).
On the morning of December 4, when a person came to buy drugs, Lu Van Duc sold 2 pink pills for 100,000 VND. At 7:00 p.m. the same day, while Duc was at home, the Quy Chau District Police Task Force inspected and confiscated many packages of drugs.
Based on Duc’s testimony, the authorities searched Duc’s parents’ house and seized more packages of drugs hidden in the kitchen cupboard. Only when the police raided the house and discovered many packages of drugs did Mr. K. and his wife learn of the incident.
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The investigation agency determined that Lu Van Duc must bear criminal responsibility for the act of buying and selling more than 41 grams of drugs. Duc was prosecuted and brought to trial for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.
Late awakening
At the witness stand, the defendant admitted to the crime. Duc said he had the intention to traffic drugs because of greed. Regarding the money used to buy drugs, the defendant said he had saved up while working for hire.
The defendant argued that his difficult family circumstances and his low level of education led to his crime. Duc explained that he only studied until grade 7 and then dropped out. He dropped out of school early, initially staying at home to help his parents but then went out to work. Being playful and lacking courage, he got involved in drugs and today had to pay the price by appearing in court. The defendant hopes to have his sentence reduced so that he can soon return home to raise his children and take care of his parents.
Attending the trial of his son, the defendant’s father sat quietly. Sadness was evident on his face. Like any other parent, they wanted their child to grow up to be a good person and have a stable life. But Duc made his family upset.
Now he was filled with sadness and remorse. If only he had not trusted his son so much, had stopped him earlier, then today's heartbreaking incident would not have happened.
In this case, Mr. K. stated that he did not know that his son was hiding drugs in his house. Therefore, when the authorities raided and discovered the packages of drugs, he and his wife were very surprised. Although he himself proved that he had nothing to do with the drugs, he and his wife could not help but feel sad when their son had illegally bought and sold drugs, violating the law.
Although saddened by his son’s mistake, the father did not blame him but encouraged him to reform. “If you make a mistake, correct it,” he told his son during the court’s deliberations.
The panel of judges determined that drugs are a great threat to the whole society, causing harm to health, degrading the race, human dignity, destroying family happiness, seriously affecting social order, safety and national security, so it must be dealt with strictly. After considering the whole case, the panel of judges sentenced defendant Lu Van Duc to 15 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.
Entering the prison gate at the age of over 30, hopefully that will be the time for the defendant to reflect on himself and his illegal actions. Because, the opportunity to correct mistakes and rebuild his life is still there for those who are determined enough to turn around and turn to goodness.
