On 2/8, the Da Nang People's Court sentenced Tran Kim Hoan, 53, from Do Luong, Nghe An province, to life in prison for drug trafficking.
According to the indictment, on 1/6/2024, Hoan was in Quy Hop district, Nghe An province, to purchase floor tiles when a young Laotian man approached him. The man offered Hoan 20 million VND to transport a package of narcotics to Da Nang. Hoan said he needed time to consider and gave the man his phone number.
Three days later, Hoan received a call from the young man about the "business" proposition. In need of money, Hoan agreed.
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Tran Kim Hoan (standing) and Tran Bao Quoc (seated) in court. Photo: Ngoc Hoa |
Tran Kim Hoan (standing) and Tran Bao Quoc (seated) in court. Photo: Ngoc Hoa
Hoan rode his motorbike to Quy Chau district, Nghe An, to pick up the package and hid it at his home. The following evening, he opened the package and found a green tea bag and two nylon packages containing blue pills. After placing the narcotics in a backpack, Hoan took a bus from Nghe An to Da Nang.
Upon arriving at Da Nang's central bus station on the morning of 6/6/2024, Hoan received a call from a stranger instructing him to rent a hotel room and wait for someone to collect the narcotics. Police arrested Hoan at the hotel. The total weight of the narcotics Hoan transported was over 2 kg, consisting of 1 kg of ketamine and the remainder methamphetamine.
In a separate case, Tran Bao Quoc, 48, from Ho Chi Minh City, was also sentenced by the Da Nang People's Court to 20 years in prison for the same crime.
The indictment stated that on the afternoon of 11/10/2024, an individual named Tom (identity unknown) contacted Quoc via Telegram, offering him 40 million VND to transport narcotics from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang. That evening, Tom directed Quoc to a red nylon bag hidden under the Ta Quang Buu bridge in District 8.
Quoc retrieved the narcotics and temporarily hid them in a vacant lot near his apartment building. Around 8 PM, he hired a Grab car to take him to Da Nang for 9 million VND. Quoc concealed the narcotics in his luggage. On 12/10, at approximately 8 PM, police stopped the car on Highway 14B in Hoa Nhon commune, Hoa Vang district, and discovered the narcotics, which included 1.1 kg of ketamine and nearly half a kilogram of another substance.
Quoc, who had a prior conviction for robbery, was unemployed and struggling financially, leading him to accept the offer for money.
Ngoc Truong
