Death penalty for 2 foreigners who traffic drugs to Vietnam to sell for profit

On February 25, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a trial of two defendants, Cha Menh Vu (born 1978) and Co Xong (born 1994), both residing in Kham Cot district, Bolykhamxay province, Lao PDR, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

The indictment stated that at around 7:00 p.m. on April 1, 2024, Father Menh Vu received a phone call from a man who asked him to buy 6 large packages of methamphetamine to sell to a person in Vietnam. If Vu brought the drugs to Vietnam, he would pay 2,000 USD per package. Hearing this, Vu agreed.

The next day, Vu went to Co Xong’s house to discuss and told his brother-in-law to find a source to buy drugs to resell for profit. Co Xong agreed, so he called a relative and told him to bring 6 packages of drugs to his house. The seller agreed and quoted a price of 1,000 USD for each package of opium.

After receiving the drugs, Co Xong called Vu to inform him that he had the “goods”. Then, Co Xong drove a motorbike carrying the drugs and Vu to Vietnam to carry out the transaction.

At 9:00 a.m. on April 4, when the two arrived at Huoi Khe village, Muong Ai commune, Ky Son district, they were discovered and arrested by Nghe An province border guards along with more than 3.5 kg of drugs.

At the trial, the two defendants admitted to their crimes. Defendant Co Xong confessed that he had bought drugs on debt to bring them to Vietnam to sell for profit. However, he was arrested before he could complete the transaction.

After listening to the representative of the Procuracy propose a sentencedeath penaltyBoth defendants asked the court to give them a chance to live and return home to reunite with their families.

The panel of judges determined that the actions of the two defendants violated Vietnamese law. With an exceptionally large amount of drugs, the two defendants Cha Menh Vu and Co Xong were sentenced to death.