Two drivers jailed for transporting over 1 ton of firecrackers.
Hoang Canh Uoc was hired by someone to transport firecrackers for a fee of 30 million VND, and he agreed. Due to the large quantity of firecrackers, Uoc enlisted Cao Thanh Hoa to help transport them. When the group reached Nghe An province, they were apprehended by law enforcement.
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The People's Court of Nghe An province recently held a first-instance trial to hear the case against defendants Hoang Canh Uoc (born in 1981) and Cao Thanh Hoa (born in 1994), both residing in Gia Lai province, for the crime of "transporting prohibited goods".
According to the case file, on May 13, 2025, Uoc received a phone call from an unidentified man offering him 30 million VND to transport firecrackers from near the Le Thanh Border Gate (Gia Lai province) to the North. The man told Uoc to follow the Ho Chi Minh Trail and someone would contact him to receive the goods. Uoc agreed.
That evening, Uoc drove his car to the rubber plantation area to pick up the goods. Because the quantity of firecrackers was so large, Uoc called Cao Thanh Hoa and said that someone had hired him to transport the firecrackers to the North for a fee of 10 million dong, with an advance payment of 5 million dong.
Hoang Canh Uoc told Hoa to go to his house to get his pickup truck and drive to the meeting point to pick up the firecrackers. Upon arrival, the two of them loaded many cardboard boxes and plastic bags containing firecrackers onto the truck.
After that, the two drivers followed the Ho Chi Minh Trail heading north. At around 6 PM on May 14th, when they reached Cao Son commune, Anh Son district (formerly), they were arrested by the Economic Security Task Force of the Nghe An Provincial Police.
Authorities seized over 495 kg of firecrackers from the car driven by Uoc and over 668 kg of firecrackers from the car driven by Hoa. In this case, the total amount of firecrackers transported by the two suspects was over 1.1 tons.
At the trial, both defendants admitted to the crime. They testified that they agreed to transport fireworks for an unknown individual because they were motivated by the prospect of earning money.
After their arrest, Uoc voluntarily surrendered 25 million VND of illegally obtained profits, while Hoa surrendered nearly 5 million VND.
The court determined that the defendants' criminal acts were dangerous to society and violated regulations prohibiting the storage, transportation, and sale of firecrackers, thus requiring strict punishment. However, mitigating circumstances such as honest confession, voluntary surrender of illegally obtained money, and the presence of family members who contributed to the revolution should also be considered.
Considering the role of each defendant in the case, the court sentenced Hoang Canh Uoc to 5 years and 6 months in prison and an additional fine of 10 million VND. Defendant Cao Thanh Hoa was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
