From prison guard to criminal
(Baonghean)Not long ago, the story of a Lieutenant Colonel, formerly a prison guard at Detention Center No. 3 (Tan Ky), being brought to trial for illegally transporting narcotics caused a public uproar.
The trial of the former police lieutenant colonel at Detention Center No. 3 and other defendants accused of drug trafficking attracted a large crowd of citizens and reporters. Looking at Nguyen Van Mien, thin and small in his white shirt, standing with his head bowed before the dock, no one could believe that just about a year ago, Mien was a prison guard at Detention Center No. 3. All because of: "greed."
Mien's first "nascent" criminal act occurred around March and April 2010. At that time, Truong Dinh Thong and Nguyen Quang Cuong (both from Hung Long commune, Hung Nguyen district) were detained at Prison No. 3 (Tan Ky district) and intended to send money to Hoang Nghia Dong (from Hung Linh commune, Hung Nguyen district) to buy drugs to sell in prison for profit. Immediately afterward, using the excuse of sending money to Cuong's uncle to take care of his child, they asked Nguyen Van Mien, who was then a prison officer, to receive 2.5 million dong.
After receiving the money, Mien called Dong and said, "They sent the money to you. Should I send it through the bank, or you can come and pick it up when I get home on Saturday?" That Saturday, Mien returned home to Hung Tien commune, Nam Dan district, and called Hong to come and collect the money. Later, Dong called Hoang Nghia Au in Hamlet 7, Hung Long commune, to inquire about buying a gram of heroin, but the deal fell through because he didn't have enough money.
Defendant Nguyen Van Mien (thin man, white shirt) with his accomplices.
court.
Some time later, Cuong gave Dong another 4 million dong to buy drugs. This time, since Mien couldn't come back, she sent the money to Dong via bank transfer. With that money, they bought 1.6 grams of heroin, then put it in a biscuit box and took it to Nam Dan.
The second time Nguyen Van Mien acted as a "bridge" for the criminals occurred about a month later. At that time, in prison, Truong Dinh Thong collected 9 million dong from selling heroin and asked Cuong to have Mien send it to Hoang Nghia Dong. After receiving the money, Mien went to Tan Ky town and asked someone else in Block 7 to send it to Nguyen Thi Nguyet Ha (Dong's wife) via bank. Dong then used this money to buy 1.8 taels of heroin, wrapped it in a bowl of traditional Chinese medicine, and delivered it to the house of Mrs. Hoang Thi Thanh, the mother of inmate Vo Minh Phuoc, in Nghi Xa commune, Nghi Loc district.
In court, when the presiding judge asked Mien: "Do you know what that money was sent for?", Mien replied: "I knew that prisoner Nguyen Quang Cuong was buying and selling drugs with Hoang Nghia Dong, but out of respect, I still agreed to transport the money for Cuong. For this 'transaction,' Mien received a 'kickback' of 500,000 dong."
The third time, Miên and the drug traffickers committed a crime was in mid-May 2010. Because the previous method of sending the drugs through visits was time-consuming, they discussed "switching to sending them by post to officer Miên, then Cường would come to pick them up and bring them to the camp" - Thông recalled. Following that, Cường asked Miên to send 4 million dong to Đồng and Hà. On the afternoon of May 17, 2010, Đồng bought two grams of heroin weighing 7.375 grams from Hoàng Nghĩa Âu in Hamlet 7A, Hưng Long commune, and also bought some other supplies.
Back home, Dong cut open the soles of two sandals, put the drugs inside, and then glued them back together with super glue. Seeing him do this, his wife was very worried, but Dong reassured her: "Mr. Mien, the prison officer, will take care of it. It'll be fine. If they find out, the prison staff will handle it. Don't worry, Mom." The package was addressed to Nguyen Van Mien – officer at Prison No. 3 – in the "delivery" section. Dong also included 200,000 dong as a "thank you" to Mien.
However, upon receiving this package, due to suspicions, Prison No. 3 decided to record the incident and hand it over to the Criminal Investigation Agency of Tan Ky District Police for further investigation. The sealed package opening record dated May 23, 2010, from the Criminal Investigation Agency of Tan Ky District Police, and the Forensic Examination Report No. 505/PC21 (MT) dated May 24, 2010, from the Forensic Science Department of Nghe An Provincial Police, concluded: "The entire quantity of white powder seized in the package sent by Nguyen Thi Ha to Nguyen Van Mien - an officer of Prison No. 3 - for examination is heroin, weighing 7.375 grams."
On two occasions, Mien assisted his accomplices in the illegal trafficking of 3.8 grams of heroin and received 700,000 dong as payment.
With overwhelming evidence, when standing before the court, Nguyen Van Mien could hardly deny anything and his only option was to cooperate with the authorities. Mien repeatedly stated, "The defendant was compassionate and naive, which led to his mistake..."
Indeed, upon hearing these words, and especially the family history of the defendant Nguyen Van Mien, those attending the trial couldn't help but feel regret. Defendant Mien was born into a revolutionary family, had worked in the police force for over 20 years, and had received numerous commendations. At the time of his crime, he was awaiting retirement... As someone who had worked with Mien for many years, and who had monitored him since his days as a police officer at Prison No. 3, Colonel To Van Duc – former Chief Warden of Prison No. 3 – believes that police officers without strong character and firm principles are easily corrupted. Mien's mistake stemmed from personal greed, while the managing unit was overly complacent in failing to discipline its officers.
Now, sitting in prison serving a five-year sentence, the defendant will have time to reflect on his actions. Behind bars, looking at the "officials" who were once his colleagues, he will surely find the answer to why he ended up in this situation!
Song Hoang
