Jailed for 'keeping' drugs for others

Nghe An Provincial People's Court has just opened the first instance trial of defendant Phan Ngoc Luu (born 1982), residing in Dien Thanh commune, Dien Chau district, for the crime ofIllegal possession of drugs.

This is the second time this defendant has appeared in court. Previously, in 2020, Luu was sentenced to 12 months in prison for illegal possession of drugs. Shortly after his release from prison, this man reoffended.

The indictment shows that around the end of December 2023, through social relationships, Phan Ngoc Luu became acquainted with a man named Sy (unknown identity and background) in Vinh City.

Around the beginning of January 2024, Sy contacted Luu and said: "When I go to Dien Chau, I need your help with something." Luu asked again what it was, but Sy did not answer.

On January 18, while Luu was drinking coffee at a hotel in Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district, Sy contacted and came to visit. When they met, Sy gave Luu a black plastic bag, telling him to keep it for a few days and someone would come pick it up.

Luu opened the bag to check and found out that it was a heroin cake, so he hid it in his jacket and went home. At about 8:50 a.m. the same day, while Phan Ngoc Luu was walking, he was arrested by the police with 349 grams of drugs.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime. The defendant stated that even though he knew the person asked him to take the drugs home to “keep for him,” he still did it out of respect and greed.

The defendant expressed remorse and explained his difficult circumstances to ask the court to consider reducing his sentence.

Finding the defendant's actions to be illegal, the panel sentenced Phan Ngoc Luu to 17 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.

As for the man named Sy, because the defendant's identity and background are unknown, the authorities have no basis to investigate and prosecute him.