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.
HCM City (VNA) – The People’s Court ofHo Chi Minh City has handed down the capital punishment on five defendantsinvolving in the illegal trade and transportation of a big amount of drug atthe end of a four-day trial on August 2.
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 MinhCity for sale, were sentenced to life in prison.
Meanwhile, three received sentences from 5 to 20years in jail.
The defendants were also ordered to pay fines of20-200 million VND (859.39 – 8,593 USD) as an additional punishment, along withpaying back the money they got from trafficking.
Ring leader Nguyen VanPhu must pay back 340 million VND (14,606 USD) from illegal proceeds from drugtrafficking.
On November 16, 2015, the police caught TranThanh Cuong red handed for trafficking 15 bricks of heroin weighing 5.2 kg alongwith 50 million VND and 5,000 USD in cash.
Cuong confessed that he bought the drug from Phu.
Phu was arrested later along with two bricks ofheroin.
During the investigation from January 9-11,2016, the police arrested more persons involved in the drug ring.
According to theinvestigation agency, the traffickers traded over 20 kg of heroin and over 17 kgof synthetic drug.
Phu said he bought the heroin at 210 million VNDper kg and sold at 220 million VND.
From August to November 2015, Phu bought a totalof 47 bricks of heroin and sold 45 to Cuong.-VNA
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At the trial (Photo: VNA) 
