Five sentenced to death in major drug trafficking case

HCM CITY  — The People’s Court of HCM City has sentenced to death five defendants involved in the illegal trade and transportation of a large amount of drugs at the end of a four-day trial on Thursday.

Among the defendants sentenced to death is ring leader Nguyễn Văn Phú, born in 1964. In addition to the five, four others in the ring, which smuggled drugs from Cambodia to Việt Nam and from the north to HCM City for sale, were sentenced to life in prison. Another three received sentences ranging from five to 20 years in prison.

The defendants were also ordered to pay fines of VNĐ20-200 million (US$859.39 – 8,593) as an additional punishment, along with paying back the money they got from trafficking. Ring leader Phú must pay back VNĐ340 million ($14,606) from illegal proceeds from drug trafficking. 

On November 16, 2015, the police caught Trần Thanh Cương red handed as he trafficked 15 bricks of heroin weighing 5.2 kg, along with VNĐ50 million and $5,000 in cash. Cương confessed that he bought the drug from Phú. Phú was arrested later along with two bricks of heroin.

During the investigation from January 9-11, 2016, the police arrested more people 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. Phú said he bought the heroin at VNĐ210 million per kg and sold it at VNĐ220 million.

From August to November 2015, Phú bought a total of 47 bricks of heroin and sold 45 to Cương. — VNS