The defendants stand trial at HCM City People's Court on Thursday. — Photo congly.vn

HCM CITY — The People’s Court of HCM City on Thursday sentenced four defendants to death for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking ring in the city.

Those receiving the death penalty for “illegal trading narcotic substances” were Nguyễn Bình Đại, 38; Mạc Vĩnh Khiêm, 35; Thái Duy Quang, 36; and Nguyễn Bình Triệu, 54; all residents of HCM City.

In the same case, Trần Tòng Dũng, 52, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for illegal drug trading and storage. Huỳnh Mỹ Ngọc, 24; Thạch Ngọc Yến Vy, 25; and Nguyễn Đại Nghĩa, 29, received life sentences, while Phạm Thanh Phương, 29, from An Giang province was sentenced to 20 years in jail for illegally transporting drugs.

According to the indictment, at around 5pm on November 20, 2022, a task force from the city's police division for drug crime investigation discovered Khiêm and Quang acting suspiciously in front of a house on Nguyen Huu Canh street in Bình Thạnh District, now Thạnh Mỹ Tây Ward. A subsequent inspection uncovered nearly 43kg of ketamine hidden in the kitchen of the house.

Further investigating, authorities searched many locations and seized additional quantities of drugs, including methamphetamine, MDMA, ketamine, amphetamine, and nimetazepam, with a total weight of dozens of kilogrammes. At Khiêm’s home, police also confiscated more than 2.3kg of ketamine.

Further searches at other defendants’ residences uncovered more narcotics.

Investigators determined that from October 2022 until his arrest, Đại acted as the ringleader. He received drugs from individuals identified only as Giang and Yang, whose identities remain unknown, and then stored and distributed them to buyers.

Đại instructed Khiêm, Quang, and Triệu to receive shipments, store the drugs at many locations, and deliver them to customers upon request.

The ring carried out large-scale drug transactions in many areas of the city. In one deal, Đại directed Quang to deliver 2kg of methamphetamine to Dũng for VNĐ400 million (over US$15,200).

In another branch of the ring, Ngọc was hired by a woman known as Út to collect a suitcase and backpack containing drugs. Ngoc later asked Nghĩa, Phương, and Vy to hide the drugs in their rented room. Police subsequently seized more than 14kg of ketamine, nearly 3kg of methamphetamine, and over 374g of MDMA from the group.

Prosecutors said the total amount of drugs involved in the case was exceptionally large. Đại alone was held criminally responsible for more than 60 kg of ketamine and over 34kg of other types of drugs. — VNA/VNS