Nghe An taxi driver sentenced for carrying 'candy basket' to deliver to customer
(Baonghean.vn) - Although he knew that the “candy basket” contained drugs, Tuan still agreed to deliver it to the customer. When Tuan just stepped out of the hotel with the “goods” in hand, he was arrested by the police.
On the morning of July 26, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Nguyen Huu Tuan (born 1977), residing in Thanh Duong commune, Thanh Chuong district, for the crimes of Illegally transporting and storing narcotics.
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| Defendant Nguyen Huu Tuan. Photo: Tran Vu |
According to the investigation agency's documents, in early 2019, through a subject, Tuan got to know a woman named Tu in Vinh City. On January 25, Tu called Tuan to discuss hiring her to transport drugs from Vinh City to Ha Tinh. Tuan said "I'm busy today and can't go", then Tu suggested "Do you want to use drugs? Come to the Shanghai Hotel, I'll give them to you to use". Tuan immediately drove to the hotel to meet Tu to get 5 pink pills.
On January 26, Tu called Tuan to hire a car to transport him from Vinh City to Ha Tinh for 2 million VND. Tuan agreed, so he went to the hotel as scheduled, went to the reception desk to get a "basket of candy" to take to Ha Tinh. When Tuan went out to the hotel lobby, he was arrested by the Vinh City Police Department's drug crime investigation team.
Searching Tuan, the police also seized 5 more Methamphetamine pills weighing 0.5 grams.
In court, defendant Tuan admitted that he knew the “candy basket” was drugs but still agreed to deliver the goods. Tuan said that he earned nearly 1 million VND per day as a taxi driver. Therefore, taking a woman named Tu from Vinh City to Ha Tinh to receive 2 million VND was a large sum of money, so he agreed.
It is known that in 2004, Tuan was sentenced to 18 months in prison by the People's Court of Hung Nguyen district, with a suspended sentence, for theft of property. The defendant himself was a drug addict but has since quit.
Defendant Tuan had mitigating circumstances such as his honest confession and his family's contributions to the revolution. Considering the entire case, the panel sentenced Nguyen Huu Tuan to 20 years in prison for Illegally transporting narcotics and 1 year in prison for Illegally possessing narcotics. The defendant was sentenced to a total of 21 years in prison.
