After asking his wife for one last chance to traffic drugs, the "drug kingpin" in Nghe An receives a life sentence.
(Baonghean.vn) - Despite having two previous convictions related to drugs and still serving his sentence at Quang Binh Prison, "drug kingpin" Nguyen Xuan Chien still directed "the madman" Vo Van Ha and his wife to illegally buy and sell drugs.
On November 5, 2018, the People's Court of Nghe An province announced the verdicts against defendants Nguyen Xuan Chien (born in 1981), Nguyen Thi Vinh (born in 1981), both residing in Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, and defendant Vo Van Ha (born in 1987, residing in Dien Loi, Dien Chau) in their first-instance trial for the crime of "Illegal trafficking of narcotics".
 |
| Defendants Nguyen Xuan Chien, Nguyen Thi Vinh, and Vu Van Ha (from left to right) listen as the court pronounces the verdict. Photo: Quynh An |
According to the indictment, Nguyen Xuan Chien was serving a 19-year sentence for "illegally transporting narcotics" at Dong Son Prison (Quang Binh province) but managed to smuggle two mobile phones into his cell. Chien contacted Tran My Chien to discuss purchasing drugs, and the latter agreed to buy 10 packets of methamphetamine at a time. Subsequently, Nguyen Xuan Chien contacted a Laotian man named Po (who had previously sold drugs to Chien) and received his agreement.
After contacting the drug seller and buyer, Chien called his wife, Nguyen Thi Vinh, and said, "Let me make one more trip?" Upon learning of her husband's intention to buy and sell drugs, Vinh tried to dissuade him, but Chien wouldn't listen.
On July 30, 2017, Chien contacted Vo Van Ha to discuss going to the Cau Treo border gate (Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province) to deliver drugs to a Laotian man. Ha agreed and instructed his wife, Nguyen Thi Vinh, to prepare the money for him.
Following Chien's instructions, Vinh gave Ha $12,000 and 3 million VND to deliver drugs at the Cau Treo border gate (Ha Tinh province). Ha hired a car to transport over 2 kg of synthetic drugs and one block of heroin to the customer. Upon reaching Son Tay commune (Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province), they were discovered and arrested by authorities.
During a search of Nguyen Thi Vinh's house and the land managed by the couple, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police discovered a newly dug-up plot of land with suspicious signs. Upon inspection, the investigation team found an electronic scale, two mobile phones, a white polyethylene bag containing a white-brown crystalline substance, and seven identical white polyethylene bags containing a white crystalline substance. During questioning, Chien confessed that the crystalline substance seized by the authorities was methamphetamine, which he had stored for sale before being arrested by the Quang Binh Provincial Police.
In 2013, Chien was sentenced by the Anh Son District People's Court to 30 months in prison for "illegally possessing narcotics". In August 2017, Chien was sentenced by the Da Nang High People's Court on appeal to 19 years in prison for "illegally transporting narcotics".
The court determined that the actions of the three defendants were exceptionally serious and dangerous to society, requiring strict legal action. Based on aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced Nguyen Xuan Chien to life imprisonment for the crime of "Illegal trafficking of narcotics"; defendant Nguyen Thi Vinh to 7 years in prison; and defendant Vo Van Ha to 20 years in prison for the crime of illegal trafficking of narcotics.
