Death penalty for drug trafficker over 6 kg

On November 5, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of Nguyen Viet Hung (35 years old), residing in Cua Nam ward, Vinh city, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

This case was brought to trial by the Provincial People’s Court on February 27, 2019. At this trial, defendant Hung admitted to buying more than 6 kg of drugs for his own use and resale. The court sentenced Nguyen Viet Hung to life in prison.

Afterwards, the High People's Procuracy in Hanoi appealed to the Nghe An court to retry the case and increase the sentence for defendant Hung. Therefore, the court decided to cancel the first instance judgment and return the case file for re-investigation to ensure that the case is tried for the right person and the right crime.

Nguyen Viet Hung (35 years old), resident of Cua Nam ward, Vinh city. Photo: Tran Long

The defendant’s criminal behavior was demonstrated in 2014, during a trip to Quang Binh, Hung accidentally met a Laotian man named Vu. During the conversation, the Laotian said that he had drugs, and if Hung knew anyone who bought the “goods”, he should contact him.

On July 17, 2018, Vu made an appointment with Hung to go to Huong Son district (Ha Tinh) to discuss drug trading. When they met, Vu said he would transfer 5-7 kg of drugs, each kg costing 200 million VND. Vu told Hung to try to prepare some money to get the drugs, and to pay him back the rest.

On July 21, 2018, Vu continued to call Hung and ask if he wanted to get the drugs. Hung replied yes, and then the two sides negotiated the delivery of the goods.

After that, the Lao man sent the "goods" via the bus running from Huong Son (Ha Tinh) to Vinh City. In the afternoon of the same day, while Hung was receiving the drugs, he was arrested by the police. The seized evidence was a carton containing 6 white plastic packages weighing 5,499 grams of drugs (methamphetamine) and 1 package of drugs weighing 993 grams of drugs (ketamine). Thus, the total amount of drugs for which Hung must bear criminal responsibility is more than 6.4 kg of drugs.

At today's trial, the defendant changed his testimony compared to the previous trial. Hung said he was addicted to drugs so he bought them for gradual use. The defendant said he only ordered 50 grams of drugs, and did not know how much the Lao sent. The defendant said he only committed the crime of Possession, not the crime of drug trafficking as prosecuted by the People's Procuracy. Regarding the price of drugs, at this trial, the defendant said he did not know the price, the statement of 200 million VND when he was first arrested was "suggested by the officer".

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were particularly serious, dangerous to society, and involved drug trafficking in large quantities. Although the defendant’s statements at this trial were inconsistent and dishonest, based on his self-confessions, the transcripts of his statements during the investigation and interrogation, as well as the evidence and public debates at the trial, there was sufficient basis to prove that the defendant Hung had purchased drugs for his own use and resold them for profit.

Considering the case comprehensively, the People's Court sentenced Nguyen Viet Hung to death for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.