Death sentence for driver from Quang Ninh to Nghe An to transport drugs

On September 28, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Tran Van Cuong (born 1991), residing in Tan Viet commune, Dong Trieu town (Quang Ninh province) for the crime of "Illegal transportation of drugs".

The case file shows that Cuong knew a man named Tung (unknown background, specific address). On January 20, 2021, Tung called Cuong to hire him to go to Nghe An to receive drugs and then take them to Quang Ninh for a fee of 10 million VND.

Defendant Tran Van Cuong was sentenced to death. Photo: Tran Vu

Cuong agreed to meet Tung and received 3 million VND in advance. Then, Cuong drove the car to Nghe An following Tung's instructions.

At 1 a.m. the next day, Cuong received a phone call from a man who promised to “deliver drugs at 4 p.m. at Hieu Bridge, Thai Hoa Town.” As scheduled, Cuong arrived and was told by this man that the drugs were hidden between two electric poles near the embankment at the head of Hieu Bridge.

Cuong walked down the bridge and saw a bag of snake carcasses containing drugs, so he took it and put it in his car to go home. At that moment, the Nghe An Police task force discovered and caught him red-handed. The evidence of the case was 4 cakes of drugs and 2 packages of pink pills with a total weight of more than 1,400 grams.

At the trial, the defendant initially stated that he was just a hired transporter and did not know that the goods were drugs. However, he later admitted to the crime. He stated that he worked as a taxi driver and agreed to go to Nghe An to get drugs because he was greedy for profit.

In his final words, the defendant asked the court to give him a chance to live to start his life over and make amends with his wife and children.

Considering that the amount of drugs the defendant transported was exceptionally large, the panel sentenced Tran Van Cuong.death penaltyfor the crime of "Illegal transportation of drugs".

As for the man named Tung, Cuong did not know his background or specific address, so there was no basis for investigation and clarification.