Traveling over 200 km to buy 'white goods' on credit, the young man received a life sentence

After a lengthy deliberation, on November 5, the People's Court of Nghe An province sentenced Tran Xuan Vuong (born 1980), residing in Hong Thinh hamlet, Dien Hong commune, Dien Chau district, to life in prison for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

Previously, on November 1, the provincial People's Court brought defendant Vuong to trial. According to the defendant's testimony, around February 2019, while working in Xieng Khouang province (Laos), the defendant met a man named Co. The two exchanged phone numbers to contact each other to buy and sell drugs.

Defendant Tran Xuan Vuong at the trial. Photo: Tran Long

At around 11am on July 4, 2019, Vuong called Co to order 30 packages of opium for 15 million Lao kip (about 40 million VND). Co promised to call back when the drugs were available.

At noon on July 7, Co called Vuong to inform him that he had the drugs and agreed on a time and place to deliver the “goods”. Because Vuong said he did not have enough money, the Lao asked him to prepare 15 million VND in advance to pay the transporter, and the rest was for debt.

At around 3pm that same day, Vuong called a friend named An and asked him to take him to Ky Son district to pay for the wood and he would be paid 2.5 million VND. An agreed. Then, An drove Vuong to Muong Xen town. At 7pm that day, Co gave Vuong the phone number of a man introduced as Thay (living in Muong Xen town). Co told Vuong, "Give me another kilo of crystal meth for 54 million VND, you can pay after selling it." Vuong agreed.

After contacting the Teacher, Vuong borrowed Mr. An's car to go to the meeting point in Noong De village, Nam Can commune to make the transaction. Upon arrival, Vuong gave the Teacher 15 million VND and received a black and blue bag containing drugs. Vuong put the drugs in the car, then drove to Muong Xen town.

At 8:00 p.m. the same day, Vuong was discovered by the working group of the Nam Can International Border Post, and the evidence was seized, which was 30 packages of pink phien weighing 575.89 grams and 1 package of crystal meth weighing 966.56 grams. Thus, the total amount of drugs for which Tran Xuan Vuong must bear criminal responsibility is 1,542.45 grams.

At the trial, the defendant admitted all his crimes and asked for leniency to start his life over.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. Although the defendant had previously served in the military, the defendant’s drug trafficking in large quantities required strict punishment. Therefore, the court sentenced Tran Xuan Vuong to the above sentence.

As for An, he said he was only asked by Vuong to take him, so he did not know about the drug trafficking and therefore was not prosecuted. As for the two men named Co and Thay, the investigation agency conducted an investigation and verification but had no basis for prosecution.