Death penalty for man carrying 10 heroin cakes, 3.2 kg of crystal meth across the border

On July 26, the People's Court of Nghe An province tried the case of Lau Giong De (born in 1985, residing in Na Kham village, Kham Cot district, Boolykhamxay province, Lao PDR) for the crime of "Illegal transportation of narcotics".

Defendant Lau Giong De at trial. Photo: Nhu Binh

According to the indictment of the Provincial People's Procuracy, Lau Giong De was hired by a Laotian named Chan Xi to transport 10 heroin cakes and more than 3.2 kg of crystal meth to Vietnam for a fee of 6 million Lao kip. On the evening of December 30, 2017, Chan Xi gave Lau Giong De the above drugs and told him to go with Tho Dia, who would be the one to pay the fee.

At about 9:00 p.m. on December 31, 2017, Tho Dia and Lau Giong De carried drugs across the Laos-Vietnam border to deliver the goods. At about 2:00 a.m. on December 31, 2017, when they arrived at Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune (Ky Son), they were discovered by the working group of Nam Can Border Guard Station in coordination with the Crime and Drug Prevention Department of Nghe An Border Guard. Tho Dia escaped while Lau Giong De was caught red-handed with 10 heroin bars on his person.

The panel of judges determined that the Provincial People's Procuracy's prosecution of Lau Giong De for "Illegal transportation of narcotics" was the right person, the right crime, and the right law; the amount of drugs that Lau Giong De transported was very large... Considering the entire case, the panel of judges sentenced Lau Giong De to death.