Transporting drugs and escaping from prison, young man admits he 'committed the crime because he was stupid'

On May 13, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Tran Nhac (born in 1996), alias Rong, residing in Phu Hau ward, Hue city (Thua Thien Hue) for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking”.

Tran Nhac was sentenced to 1 year and 3 months in prison for “Theft of property”. During this time, Nhac met a man named Luan (from Quynh Thach commune, Quynh Luu district). On October 23, 2020, Nhac drove a motorbike carrying his friend from Hue city to Hoang Mai town to play.

Defendant Tran Nhac. Photo: Tran Vu

That same evening, Nhac called Luan to borrow money but was refused. The next afternoon, Luan called Nhac and said he needed money to go back to Hue and that he should bring “stuff” for Luan and would pay 500,000 VND. Nhac understood that it was drugs and agreed.

After that, Nhac went to Giat market area (Cau Giat town) to meet Luan to receive drugs and 500,000 VND for transportation fee. Nhac took the bag of drugs to Giat market gate to deliver to the customer as directed by Luan. While Nhac was waiting for the customer to receive the "goods", he was arrested by the police with evidence of more than 82 grams of drugs.

Tran Nhac was prosecuted by the police investigation agency of Quynh Luu district for the crime of "Illegal transportation of narcotics". During his detention, Nhac took advantage of a loophole and escaped from detention on November 21, 2020 and was arrested a day later. For the crime of "Escaping from detention", Nhac was sentenced to 1 year in prison.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to his crime. Because of only 500,000 VND, the defendant was about to face a severe sentence under the law, and the defendant admitted that he was “stupid”. The defendant expressed remorse and asked for a lighter sentence so that he could return home to show his gratitude to his parents.

Committing the crime with the aggravating circumstance of recidivism, the defendant Tran Nhac was sentenced by the court to 16 years in prison, plus a sentence of 1 year in prison for the crime of "Escaping from detention", forcing the defendant to serve a total sentence of 17 years in prison.

Regarding the man named Luan, the investigation agency determined that this person lives in hamlet 8, Quynh Thach commune but is currently not present in the locality, it is unclear where he went or what he did. The investigation agency will continue to verify and consolidate documents when there is enough basis for later handling.