Death penalty for drug trafficker over 6 kg
(Baonghean.vn) - When Nguyen Viet Hung had just received a box containing more than 6 kg of drugs from the bus, the police suddenly arrived and arrested him. With an especially large amount of drugs, Hung was sentenced by the court to the highest sentence under the law.
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 purchasing more than 6 kg of drugs for 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 with an increased 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 was tried for the right person and the right crime.
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| Nguyen Viet Hung (35 years old), residing in Cua Nam ward, Vinh city. Photo: Tran Long |
The defendant’s criminal behavior was demonstrated in 2014, while on 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 was buying “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 the rest on credit.
On July 21, 2018, Vu continued to call Hung and ask "do you want to get drugs?" Hung answered yes, and then the two sides negotiated the delivery and receipt of the goods.
The Laotian man then sent the “goods” via a bus running from Huong Son (Ha Tinh) to Vinh City. That same afternoon, 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 (kentamine). 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 to use gradually. 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 the drugs, at this trial the defendant said he did not know how much they cost, and that 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 testimony at this trial was inconsistent and dishonest, based on his self-confession, the minutes of his testimony during the investigation and interrogation, as well as the evidence and public debate 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.
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