For 5 million VND, drug addict gets 21 years in prison
(Baonghean.vn) - Hired by someone to transport drugs for a salary of 5 million, Duc immediately agreed but was later arrested while on the way to deliver the goods.
On the morning of August 30, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Nguyen Nhu Duc (born in 1980, residing in Lien Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district) for the crimes of "Illegal transportation of narcotics" and "Illegal possession of narcotics".
According to the investigation agency’s documents, at around 10 p.m. on April 12, 2019, Nguyen Nhu Duc was at home when a man called to say he had “goods” that he wanted Duc to transport, and the fee was 5 million VND. Even though he knew it was drugs, Duc still agreed.
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| Defendant Nguyen Nhu Duc in court. Photo: Tran Vu |
This man arranged to meet Duc in the field area of Lien Thanh commune to discuss further. Here, the man said that tomorrow afternoon he would bring the package of drugs to Dien Chau district (the railway area bordering Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts), find a restaurant and someone would contact him to get the drugs. This man also told him to throw away the drugs if he saw any police on the road. Duc agreed.
After receiving the drugs and 5 million VND in wages, Duc took them home to hide. At around 1:00 p.m. on May 13, Duc took out the drugs, carefully wrapped them, hung the bag on his body, got on his motorbike and traveled along National Highway 7A to Dien Chau district to deliver them to an unknown man.
On the way to Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, the police asked him to stop the car for inspection. Seeing Duc put his hand in his pocket to throw away the drugs, the working group stopped him in time. The seized evidence was 1 cake of drugs weighing 341.14 grams.
Searching Nguyen Nhu Duc's emergency residence, two packages of drugs weighing 0.75 grams were discovered under the mattress on Duc's bed.
At the trial, defendant Nguyen Nhu Duc admitted to the crime as charged in the indictment. Duc said he agreed to transport the drugs for 5 million VND in wages. Regarding the drugs seized by the police at his house, Duc said he intended to use them gradually.
The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. The defendant’s prosecution for the two crimes of transporting and illegally possessing narcotics was the right person and the right crime. In this case, the defendant had some mitigating circumstances such as his honest confession and his father’s contribution to the revolution.
Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Nguyen Nhu Duc to 20 years in prison for “Illegal transportation of narcotics” and 1 year in prison for “Illegal possession of narcotics”. The total sentence that defendant Duc must serve is 21 years in prison.
Previously in 2015, Duc was sentenced to 7 months in prison for theft of property.
