Wife fainted when hearing the news that her husband had re-offended in the 'white goods' trade

Sold 2 "trees" of heroin for 2 million VND

Nghe An Provincial People's Court has just opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Lo Van Tho (born 1961), residing in Chau Thon commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

This is the second time Tho has appeared in court for drug-related crimes. Previously, in 2003, Lo Van Tho was sentenced to 7 years in prison for “Illegal possession of narcotics” and 6 months in prison for “Illegal possession of military weapons”.

Defendant Lo Van Tho in court. Photo: Tran Vu

In 2009, Tho was released from prison early. Returning to normal life after many years of "eating prison food and wearing a numbered uniform", Tho was encouraged by his wife and children to reintegrate into life.

Tho's wife, Lo Thi Ch., used all her words to advise her husband. Every day, in addition to working in the fields, she kept a close watch on him to make sure he would not get involved with drugs again. However, the day she took the bus to Hung Nguyen district to take care of her grandchild was also the day Tho was arrested.

According to information from the investigation agency, about a week before his arrest, Tho met a man who introduced himself as Minh in Tri Le commune (Que Phong district) and the two exchanged phone numbers. At around 4:00 p.m. on April 16, Minh called Tho to ask to buy 2 "trees" of heroin for 16 million VND/tree and 2 packages of pink phien for 5 million VND/package. Lo Van Tho agreed.

The next morning, Tho met and ordered the amount of drugs as ordered by Minh from a Hmong man named Pa Tho. Pa Tho agreed and promised to give Tho 2.5 million VND after selling the drugs.

At around 1pm on April 17, Pa Tho brought drugs to Tho's house to deliver to her. Tho called Minh to make an appointment to come to Tho's house to buy and sell drugs. When Minh and two strange men arrived at Tho's house, Minh asked, "Do you have any drugs?". Tho showed Minh the bag of drugs that Pa Tho had left on the floor. While the two were carrying out the transaction, they were discovered and arrested by the police. The man named Minh and the others escaped.

The seized evidence of the case was drugs weighing 76.3 grams of heroin and 40.6 grams of Methamphetamine. The total amount of drugs for which Lo Van Tho must bear criminal responsibility in this case is 116.9 grams.

Babbling "Grandpa" in court

At the witness stand, Lo Van Tho admitted to the crime as charged in the indictment. Tho stated that he was enticed to participate in drug trafficking. However, the defendant was arrested before he could benefit from the deal.

Having the last word, Tho expressed remorse and asked for a lighter sentence. “The defendant is old and often sick. I ask the court to reduce the sentence so that I have the opportunity to return to my family, reunite with my wife and children, and teach my grandchildren,” Tho said with red eyes.

The defendant's daughter and granddaughter in the hallway of the court. Photo: Tran Vu

Throughout the trial, the daughter stood outside in the hallway, holding her baby. Every now and then, she would bring her baby to the door, looking at her father in court. Seeing Tho, the nearly 2-year-old girl kept babbling, “Grandpa, Grandpa, it’s Mom.”

According to this woman, because her siblings are all married, only her parents live together in the house. On the day of the incident, Ms. Ch. was on a bus to take care of her grandchild. "Hearing the news that my father was arrested for drug trafficking, my mother fainted on the bus. My mother was shocked by my father's recidivism," she said sadly.

Since then, Mrs. Ch. has always been sad and sick. Worried about her health, her children have encouraged her, but the sadness still remains in this woman. “Because of her poor health, my mother could not attend this trial. Therefore, I sent my mother's words of encouragement to my father to try to reform well,” said the daughter.

Seeing his daughter and granddaughter during the court's deliberations, Lo Van Tho shed tears. In the brief moment of reunion, the defendant only had time to hold the little grandchild's hand. Although it was the second time he had met his grandfather, the child appeared quite bold, constantly babbling "grandpa."

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. The fact that the defendant had been tried once for a drug-related crime but still reoffended showed contempt for the law. In this case, the defendant had one mitigating circumstance: he confessed honestly. Considering the case as a whole, the panel of judges sentenced Lo Van Thi to 20 years in prison for “Illegal drug trafficking”.