Defendants in the courtroom. — Photo baovephapluat.vn

HÀ NỘI — A Hà Nội court has handed down severe sentences to 17 people convicted in a transnational drug-trafficking operation that moved large quantities of narcotics from Laos into Việt Nam, according to court officials and prosecutors.

The Hà Nội People’s Court on Wednesday sentenced four defendants to death, including Quàng Văn Thành, 32; Lò Ngọc Quyền, 29; Bạc Cầm Anh, 29; and Trần Chí Thanh, 36, all from Điện Biên Province.

Another defendant, Lê Thanh Tâm, 56, received a life sentence. Prosecutors said Tâm had previously been sentenced to death by a court in HCM City for related offences and his combined penalty is death.

Of the remaining 12 defendants, nine were sentenced to life imprisonment while three received prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years.

According to the Supreme People’s Procuracy, police stopped a suspicious vehicle at around 12.15am on May 28, 2024, on National Highway 1A in Hà Nội’s Thanh Trì Commune.

Police reportedly fired warning shots after the driver, identified as Nguyễn An Đại, 33, failed to stop.

A search of the vehicle uncovered more than 10.89kg of methamphetamine hidden inside a cardboard box in the boot, prosecutors said.

Investigators alleged that Đại told authorities he had been hired by a man named Nguyễn Tiến Thành to transport the drugs from a rest stop on the Pháp Vân–Cầu Giẽ Expressway to Yên Sở Park for delivery.

In a separate case on March 7, 2024, police arrested Hoàng Văn Tín, 28, at Nước Ngầm Bus Station in Hà Nội while he was allegedly handing three cardboard boxes to Vì Văn Lượng, 20. Investigators said the boxes contained various illegal drugs.

Expanded investigations found that between April 2022 and September 2024 the network allegedly worked with contacts in Laos to import and distribute heroin, ketamine, methamphetamine and MDMA in HCM City and several other provinces, with total quantities exceeding 158.76kg.

Prosecutors identified Quàng Văn Thành as a central figure in the operation, alleging that he repeatedly trafficked tens of kilograms of narcotics and earned illicit profits of more than VNĐ1 billion (US$37,960). — VNS