Death sentence upheld for man who just got out of prison but trafficked more than 3.6 kg of drugs

On December 19, at the People's Court of Nghe An province, the Hanoi High People's Court opened an appeal trial of defendant Dang Danh Tuan (born 1988, residing in Cua Nam ward, Vinh city) for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

Dang Danh Tuan is a defendant with a bad personal history, having been administratively punished for gambling and tried four times for drug-related crimes. In June 2022, Tuan completed his 39-month prison sentence for "Illegal possession of narcotics", but 3 months later, he reoffended.

According to the case file, on the afternoon of September 27, 2022, the police caught Vo Hang Nga (born in 1992, residing in Truong Thi ward, Vinh city) red-handed holding a bag containing nearly 1 kg of drugs and getting out of the car driven by Tuan. Checking the car, the police seized another bag of drugs weighing nearly 1.3 kg.

When arrested by the police, Tuan confessed that he was hiding 2 bags of drugs at home. Tuan bought the drugs from a man named Quang (unknown identity) for 300 million VND, with the intention of selling them for profit. Because a customer ordered 1 kg, Tuan took the drugs to sell.

When preparing to deliver goods to a customer, Nga called to ask for a ride home, so Tuan picked her up. When Nga got in the car, Tuan did not know that this woman was carrying drugs. When arriving at the location of the transaction with the customer, Tuan asked Nga to take the bag of drugs down so he could find a parking space. However, when Nga just opened the car door, the police rushed in and confiscated the bag of drugs from her hand.

At the first instance trial, defendant Tuan accepted responsibility for the drugs Nga held for him and the drugs hidden at home, with a total weight of more than 3.6 kg. This defendant affirmed that he had no connection with the 1.3 kg of drugs Nga seized from the car by the police.

The first instance panel of judges determined that there was sufficient basis to hold defendant Tuan criminally responsible for more than 3.6 kg of drugs; defendant Nga criminally responsible for more than 1.3 kg of drugs. Therefore, the court sentenced Dang Danh Tuan to death and Vo Hang Nga to 20 years in prison. Defendant Tuan later appealed for a reduced sentence.

At this trial, defendant Tuan presented two new details to ask the panel of judges to consider reducing his sentence. The defendant stated that he had reported the crime and helped the investigation agency arrest one subject for the crime of consuming property obtained by others through criminal activities in Binh Phuoc province and one subject for drug trafficking in Nghe An.

The defendant presented his difficult family circumstances, father passed away, mother is old, grandfather is a martyr... to ask the court to consider giving him a chance to live and rebuild his life.

The appellate court determined that the defendant had been tried four times for drugs but did not take that as a lesson to deter himself but instead committed more serious crimes.

At this trial, although the defendant presented new details, given the particularly serious nature of the case and his bad character, the court found that the death sentence imposed by the court of first instance on the defendant was commensurate with the crime. Therefore, the appellate court rejected the appeal and upheld the death sentence for the defendant Dang Danh Tuan.