Death penalty for 2 defendants buying, selling and transporting large quantities of drugs

On May 24, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of three defendants: Hoang Van Trung (born in 1994), residing in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district, for two crimes of illegal drug trafficking and harboring illegal drug use; defendant Hoang Van Quang (born in 1976), residing in Vo Liet commune, for two crimes of illegal drug transportation and possession; defendant Le Van Dong (born in 1978), residing in Thanh Ha commune, Thanh Chuong district, was tried for illegal drug transportation.

Defendants at trial. Photo: Tran Vu

According to the case file, Hoang Van Trung once worked as a hired hand in Laos and knew a man named Vu. Knowing that Vu had drugs to sell, Trung often contacted him when he returned to Vietnam.

In September 2021, Trung contacted Vu to order 2 kg of crystal meth for $10,000 to sell for profit. Trung then hired Hoang Van Quang to take the money to the Vietnam - Laos border area (bordering Ngoc Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district) to deliver it to Vu and then receive the drugs. Trung promised to pay Quang after finishing the job.

On September 30, 2021, Quang invited Le Van Dong to pick up drugs for Trung. At the meeting point, after meeting the Lao, Quang handed over the money and received 2 packages of drugs (weighing nearly 2 kg). In addition to the above drugs, the Lao also gave Quang 1 package of drugs (12.72 grams) and 2 packages of heroin (0.33 grams) for use.

At around 0:30 on October 2, when Quang was driving a motorbike carrying Dong and drugs to Ngoc Lam commune, Thanh Chuong district, he was discovered and caught red-handed by the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department, Nghe An Police.

In addition, on the night of October 2, 2021, Trung allowed 3 people to illegally use drugs at his house. While the group was "high on drugs", they were discovered and caught red-handed by the police.

At the trial, with the large amount of drugs, the representative of Nghe An Provincial People's Procuracy proposed the death penalty for the two defendants Trung and Quang.

After considering the role of each defendant in the case, the panel sentenced defendant Hoang Van Trung to death for illegal drug trafficking and two years in prison for harboring illegal drug use; the total sentence for defendant Trung is death.

Sentenced defendant Hoang Van Quang to death for illegally transporting drugs and 6 years in prison for illegally storing drugs. The total sentence for Quang is death.

Sentenced defendant Le Van Dong to 20 years in prison for illegally transporting drugs.