Defendant Phan Thanh Hữu was jailed for 16 years. — VNA/VNS Photo

ĐỒNG NAI — Directors of companies involved in the country’s biggest ever petrol smuggling case have received lengthy prison sentences.

After a 45 day trial, a total of 74 people were sentenced by Đồng Nai People’s Court on Thursday for smuggling offences and taking bribes.

Đào Ngọc Viễn, 54, director of the Đại Dương Hải Phòng Co Ltd, was jailed for 17 years. Phan Thanh Hữu, 65, director of the Phan Lê Hoàng Anh Trade Co Ltd, was sentenced to 16 years and Nguyễn Minh Đức, 39, from the Vương Đạt Petroleum Co Ltd, received 10 years in prison.

Each of them also received administrative fine of VNĐ100 million (US$4,200).

The court heard that Viễn, Hữu and Đức acted as the leaders in the smuggling enterprise. They contributed capital to buy petrol from Singapore and illegally transported it to Việt Nam for consumption to make profit.

They did this many times from March 2020 to February last year.

The court also sentenced the remaining defendants for their part in smuggling nearly 198 million litres of petrol.

Prison sentences ranged from nine months to 15 years while others received fines or suspended sentences. — VNS