Man sentenced to death for possessing 2 kg of drugs

Nguyen Van Ninh, 37, was found guilty of “illegal trading of narcotics.”

According to the indictment, in April 2023 Ninh asked Huynh Khanh Trinh, 34, a man who lived near his house in the central province, to Tuong Duong District in Nghe An to buy drugs.

Ninh promised to pay him VND10 million (US$400).

The two took a bus to Tuong Duong, bought a motorcycle and rode into a forest to meet a man named Ba, from whom they bought two kilograms of heroin, and received 72 synthetic drug pills as a gift, for VND1 billion.

On their way back home by bus, they were arrested when the bus reached the Chu Lai toll station on the Da Nang – Quang Ngai Expressway, and the police seized the drugs from them.

While in custody, Ninh screamed frequently and was unable to control his behavior, and was sent to a mental hospital.

There he was diagnosed as suffering from mental and behavioral disorders due to drug abuse.

After undergoing treatment, Ninh changed his testimony and denied his previous confessions, claiming they were made when he was confused.

He claimed further that he went to Nghe An to collect some goods for someone else and was paid VND30 million.

He did not know the identity or contact information of the person who hired him or that the package he carried to Quang Nam contained drugs, he said.

Last December the People’s Court of Quang Nam Province sentenced Trinh to death for the same crime.

Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws, which include capital punishment for those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or cocaine or over 2.5 kg of methamphetamine.

The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of any other illegal substance is also punishable by death.