Just out of prison, colluding with fellow inmates to traffic opium

On February 17, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened the first instance trial of defendant Nguyen Ba Su (born 1992), residing in Ma Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, for the crime of "Illegal trading of narcotics".drug”.

In 2019, Nguyen Ba Su and Tran Van Manh were both arrested and detained for extortion. After serving their prison sentences, Su learned that Manh was selling drugs, so he placed an order to sell them for profit.

At the online trial on February 17, the court sentenced defendant Nguyen Ba Su to 16 years in prison. Photo: Tran Vu

At noon on August 14, 2022, Su contacted Manh via social media to order 2 packages of pink pills, priced at 10 million VND. At 6:00 p.m. the same day, Su went to Cau Ro area (Thanh Chuong district) to receive the "goods". Of the purchased drugs, Su took out a small amount to use, and hid the rest on the bed.

The next afternoon, two strangers contacted Su to buy 7 pink pills. Su agreed to sell for 700 thousand VND and set a time and place for delivery.

Then, Su put the heroin in a cigarette pack and went to deliver the “goods”. On the way, Nguyen Ba Su was caught red-handed by Yen Thanh District Police.

During an urgent search of Su’s residence, authorities discovered two packages of heroin hidden on the bed. Thus, Nguyen Ba Su must be held responsible for the purchase and sale of more than 33 grams of drugs.

This is the fourth time Su has appeared in court. Previously, in 2013, Su was sentenced to 12 months in prison for theft. In 2018, Su was sentenced to 12 months in prison for gambling. In 2019, Su was sentenced to 30 months in prison for extortion.

At the online trial, the defendant admitted his crime and asked the court to consider reducing his sentence.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. In this case, the defendant had an aggravating circumstance of being a dangerous recidivist. Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced the defendant Nguyen Ba Su to 16 years in prison for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.

Regarding Tran Van Manh, the authorities have verified but this subject is not present in the locality, it is unclear where he went or what he did, so it will be considered for handling later.