Because of drugs, both husband and wife went to prison.

The couple went together to buy drugs.

Luong Van Thuan (33 years old) and Pay Thi Ngoan (33 years old) are a married couple residing in Hung Chan commune (Nghe An province). Both are of the Thai ethnic group and have two children together (the oldest is 14 years old, the youngest is 8 years old).

Having only studied up to the 9th grade, they mainly worked in manual labor and farming to support their children's education. The family was classified as poor, but instead of working hard to earn money to support their children, Thuan and his wife conspired to engage in drug trafficking.

According to the case file, on December 29, 2024, Thuan told his wife to give him the 25 million VND he had previously asked her to keep so he could buy drugs. Hearing this, his wife did not object and gave him the money to buy the illegal substances.

On the same day, Thuan took a bus to Muong Quang border commune (Nghe An province) to meet a man to buy 21 million VND worth of drugs. After buying the drugs, Thuan called his wife to pick him up. When they met, Thuan gave the package of drugs to his wife to hold, while he drove her home.

The following morning, as Thuan and his wife were riding their motorbike with the drugs to Hung Chan commune, they were signaled to stop by law enforcement. Seeing the police, Thuan sped away on his motorbike for about 100 meters before falling. At this point, Thuan told his wife, "Throw the package of drugs away for me."

The wife immediately took the package of drugs from her jacket and threw it to her husband. However, due to being pursued by the task force, Thuan fled, leaving his wife and the evidence behind. Luong Van Thuan was subsequently wanted by the police for the illegal trafficking of narcotics.

During his time on the run, on December 13, 2025, Thuan continued to purchase 12 million VND worth of drugs. However, he was arrested by the police on this occasion. The investigating agency determined that in this case, Luong Van Thuan is criminally responsible for two instances of buying and selling 187 grams of drugs. Pay Thi Ngoan is responsible for buying and selling 153 grams of drugs.

The couple's confession

At the recent trial, both defendants admitted to their crimes. Defendant Thuan confessed that he acted recklessly due to his addiction to drugs. Thuan stated that he initially did not intend to involve his wife in the criminal path. However, when he thought about the debts, he reluctantly dragged his wife into the drug trade.

Regarding the 25 million VND used to buy drugs, the two defendants stated, "This was money the couple contributed to pay off debts." However, Thuan later changed his mind and asked his wife to give him the money for "business." But that business deal was exposed before it could be completed.

When pursued by the police, Thuan fled and hid in a mountainous forest area for nearly a year. Because he was deeply involved in drugs, Thuan subsequently re-offended while the police were still issuing an arrest warrant.

In court, the couple testified that after their arrest, their children had to rely on their paternal grandparents for care. According to relatives, because the grandfather was often ill, the grandmother had been single-handedly caring for her husband and raising the two grandchildren.

When she arrived at the courthouse to meet her son and daughter-in-law, the distraught mother could only sob uncontrollably. She relentlessly reproached them for their greed, leading them down the path of crime and abandoning their two children who were still of school age.

The eighth-grade daughter was teary-eyed when she met her parents while the court adjourned for deliberation. She said that during her parents' detention, she and her sister had visited them a few times with relatives. She said, "During those visits, Mom always encouraged me to study hard and remember to take care of my younger sibling. She also told me to study hard so she could come home."

At an age when she should be eating and studying, this 14-year-old girl has to take care of her younger siblings in place of her parents. When asked about her future plans, she confided that she really wants to go to high school like her friends and then find a job to support herself. But given her current circumstances, she's not sure if she can achieve that dream.

Greed and disregard for the law led to a heavy price for the defendant couple. Luong Van Thuan, whose crime involved aggravating circumstances (committing the crime two or more times), was sentenced to 20 years in prison. His wife, Pay Thi Ngoan, received a 12-year prison sentence.

The trial concluded with a verdict for the two defendants. Seeing her parents being escorted to the prison van, the little girl sadly followed her grandparents and relatives home. Thus, for many years to come, the two children will have to fend for themselves in poverty while both parents are in prison.