Yeh Ching Wei (born in 1986) and Chiang Wei Chih (born in 1988) at the HCM City People's Court on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The People’s Court of HCM City on Friday sentenced two Taiwanese men to death for illegally trafficking 606kg of drugs.

It was the largest crystal methamphetamine trafficking case in Việt Nam to date.

According to the indictment, on April 12, 2019, traffic police of District 5 discovered three cars parked illegally, suspected of carrying prohibited goods and arranged to check the vehicles.

But when police arrived at the site, the cars left. They coordinated with other forces to chase and stop a 7-seat car driven by Yeh Ching Wei (born in 1986), carrying Chiang Wei Chih (born in 1988), and a truck driven by Vietnamese national Lê Hoàng Phúc.

According to the investigation agency, the truck driven by Phúc was found carrying 606kg of crystal methamphetamine.

The police seized an additional 452 kg of methamphetamine in a warehouse in District 10. However, there was then not enough evidence to identify these drugs as belonging to the two Taiwanese men.

The police arrested Yeh Ching Wei and Chiang Wei Chih for illegally trafficking drugs.

Chiang Wei Chih confessed that he entered Việt Nam three times from 2018 before he was arrested. Meanwhile, Yeh Ching Wei entered Việt Nam just once.

On the afternoon of April 10, 2019, both entered Việt Nam via Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport under the direction of a man called “Mr. Trần” (whose identity is unknown) to find a warehouse to hide goods in Việt Nam.

Chiang Wei Chih agreed that he would return to Taiwan to notify “Mr. Trần” after finishing his job in Việt Nam, and would pay him US$5,000.

Chiang Wei Chih rented a 7-seat car and a truck from Phúc to transport the drugs.

Based on collected documents and investigation evidence, the trial panel held the two defendants to be criminally responsible for illegally transporting drugs into Vietnamese territory. — VNS