HCM City People’s Court sentences drug smuggler to death
(VOV) - A middle-aged female drug smuggler has been sentenced to die by lethal injection for attempting to smuggle six heroin cakes weighing 2.1kg across the border from Cambodia into Vietnam.
The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City handed down the sentence to Nguyen Thi Be, 57, a resident of Tay Ninh Province on November 23 following a finding of guilty for the offense.
Anyone found guilty of possessing more than 600 grams (21 ounces) of heroin, or more than 20 kilograms of opium, can face the death penalty in Vietnam, according to HCM City law enforcement authorities.
Nguyen Thi Be appeared flanked by police officers at the sentencing hearing.
According to the indictment, Be first became acquainted with Nguyen Van Phu, 51, and Nguyen Hung Loc, 52, both of whom are residents of HCM City, when she was incarcerated in 2006.
After release on January 4, 2015, the trio travelled from HCM City to Phnom Penh in Cambodia where they purchased the heroin and attempted to illegally transport the stash back across the border.
Law enforcement authorities detected the drugs in Be’s possession hidden camouflaged in with some noodles on a bus she was travelling in and made the bust.