The skid marks of a man in debt for buying a car to work as a taxi

Ms. Thai Thi N. - wife of Nguyen Duy Chinh (born in 1984), residing in Vien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh came to court early. She did not come to visit her husband but came to court as a person with rights and obligations related to the case of "Illegal drug trafficking" in which her husband was identified as the leader. This woman also had to experience several days in prison, when her husband had not yet returned to surrender.

Nguyen Duy Chinh went to work in Russia but his income was not as expected. Returning from Russia, Chinh went to Malaysia to seek his fortune. Thanks to hard work and savings, when his labor contract expired and he returned, Chinh and his wife had a decent amount of capital, and were able to build a house that many people in their hometown dream of.

Nguyen Duy Chinh and Nguyen The Bao while waiting for the panel of judges to deliberate. Photo: Nhu Binh

After spending almost all his money on building a house, Chinh realized that he was about to lose everything, the money he had saved up from working abroad for several years was almost gone. Chinh discussed with his wife about borrowing more money to buy a car to rent. To have that new "fishing rod", Chinh was in debt for 200 million VND.

In these difficult times, taxi companies are popping up everywhere, and private cars are also plentiful, so business is not easy. The money for driving is only enough for gas and expenses, and it is difficult to save enough to pay off debts, while the 200 million VND is due.

In that desperate situation for money, when a man named Loc called to order 10 packages of opium, Chinh did not hesitate to agree and promised to contact Loc when the goods were available.

On November 20, 2018, while taking a taxi to Tuong Duong district, Nguyen Duy Chinh bought 7 packages of opium for 6 million VND/package and hid them on top of the bedroom cabinet to wait to contact Loc.

On December 5, 2018, while driving a taxi to Hanoi, Chinh received a phone call from Loc asking for goods. The two sides agreed on a price of 7 million VND per package of opium and Chinh would sell 7 packages to Loc.

At that time, because he was taking a passenger to Hanoi, Chinh called Nguyen The Bao (born in 1984, residing in Son Thanh commune, Yen Thanh), a classmate of Chinh, to hire him to come to his house to pick up drugs and deliver them to the customer. Chinh would pay Bao 3 million VND or half a package of opium.

Bao went to Chinh's house and was given a black plastic bag by Chinh's wife. Bao knew it was drugs, so he followed Chinh's instructions and drove to the delivery location for Loc. While waiting to contact Loc, Bao hid the drugs at the base of a tree in the cemetery area of ​​Nghi Van commune, Nghi Loc district.

Seeing Bao's suspicious behavior, the Nghi Loc District Police task force organized an inspection. Bao voluntarily handed over all the drugs mentioned above. Based on Bao's statement, Nghi Loc District Police urgently searched Chinh's house and seized some more opium.

Defendant Nguyen Duy Chinh at the trial. Photo: Nhu Binh

“When drugs were discovered in the house, N. was also taken away by the police. Chinh called to inform me. At that time, my limbs were weak, not knowing why my daughter was involved with drugs. Chinh said he brought the drugs home, his wife did not know. He told his wife to bring the plastic bag on top of the cupboard to Bao, so N. did as she was told, not knowing it was drugs. She asked me to take care of the children and told me to rest assured, she would go home and turn herself in to save her and her children,” Chinh’s mother-in-law said.

On December 7, 2018, Nguyen Duy Chinh returned to Nghe An, surrendered to Nghi Loc District Police, and confessed his crime. Because she did not know that her husband was buying and selling drugs, and did not know that the plastic bag she took from the top of the cupboard and gave to Bao was drugs, Thai Thi N. was released. Nguyen Duy Chinh and Nguyen The Bao were prosecuted in court for the crime of "Illegal trading of narcotics".

At the trial, the defendants all confessed honestly and showed remorse. The panel of judges determined that in this case, Nguyen The Bao must bear criminal responsibility for 7 packages of drugs, weighing 140.35 grams; Nguyen Duy Chinh must bear criminal responsibility for the act of buying and selling 145.15 grams of Methamphetamine.

Previously, in 2006, Nguyen Duy Chinh was sentenced by the People's Court of Nam Dan district to 9 months in prison but given a suspended sentence for "violating regulations on the protection of rare wild animals". Chinh was also identified as the person primarily responsible for the illegal drug trafficking case. However, during his time living in the locality, this defendant was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the authorities of Vien Thanh and Vinh Thanh communes for his achievements in fighting forest fires and rescuing drowning people, so he was entitled to mitigating circumstances according to the law.

Considering the entire case, the role of each defendant as well as the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced Nguyen Duy Chinh to 16 years and 6 months in prison, and Nguyen The Bao to 15 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

The trial ended, when the police escorted him past his wife, Chinh said something unclear. It seemed like this man was crying. Chinh's wife had just escaped the fear of being suspected of being involved in her husband's drug trafficking activities, but now she had to face the worry of raising the children and paying off her husband's debts alone. More than 16 years, not a short period of time compared to this woman's youth.