Five sentenced to death in major drug trafficking case
The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City has handed down the capital punishment on five defendants involving in the illegal trade and transportation of a big amount of drug at the end of a four-day trial on August 2.
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The five included the ring leader Nguyen Van Phu (born in 1964).
Four others in the ring, which smuggled drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam and from the north to Ho Chi Minh City for sale, were sentenced to life in prison.
Meanwhile, three received sentences from 5 to 20 years in jail.
The defendants were also ordered to pay fines of VND20-200 million (US$859.39 – 8,593) as an additional punishment, along with paying back the money they got from trafficking.
Ring leader Nguyen Van Phu must pay back VND340 million (US$14,606) from illegal proceeds from drug trafficking.
On November 16, 2015, the police caught Tran Thanh Cuong red handed for trafficking 15 bricks of heroin weighing 5.2 kg along with VND50 million and US$5,000 in cash.
Cuong confessed that he bought the drug from Phu.
Phu was arrested later along with two bricks of heroin.
During the investigation from January 9-11, 2016, the police arrested more persons involved in the drug ring.
According to the investigation agency, the traffickers traded over 20 kg of heroin and over 17 kg of synthetic drug.
Phu said he bought the heroin at VND210 million per kg and sold at VND220 million.
From August to November 2015, Phu bought a total of 47 bricks of heroin and sold 45 to Cuong.
