The defendants in court in HCM CIty on Monday. VNA/VNS Photo Thành Chung

HCM CITY — HCM City’s People’s Court on Monday sentenced seven men and one woman to death for heroin and methamphetamime trafficking.

The culprits have been named as Phan Hữu Hiệu, Lý Thơ Phước, Phan Thạch Dinh, Nguyễn Thanh Na, Bùi Đình Trung, Trần Đức Trầm, Trần Ánh Nguyệt and Ngô Hoàng Anh Dũng.

Nguyễn Nhật Trường also received a life sentence.

The judges found that Hiệu, 45, from the central province of Nghệ An, was the ringleader of the gang. 

The defendants all had criminal records.

According to the indictment, Hiệu had met a man from Laos named Siva Tony while he was at a casino in Vientiane.

After losing a large amount of money, he had to ask Tony for a loan, and agreed to help set up a trafficking line from Laos to Việt Nam.

Hiệu got in contact with Phước and Dinh and they established a ring. Tony delivered drugs to Hiệu in Đà Nẵng City, and he transported them to HCM City to Phước and Dinh to sell.

On July 11 last year, police caught Dinh carrying a suitcase full of heroin.

On the same day, Hiệu was found delivering a suitcase containing heroin to Phước.

The police also seized a stash of heroin at Dinh’s house.

Shortly after, police arrested Nam, Nguyệt, Trầm, Trung, Dũng and Trường.

The defendants were found to have traded and trafficked 379kg of heroin and 55kg of methamphetamime in total.

Death sentences in Sơn La

Also on Monday, Sơn La People’s Court sentenced three people to death for heroin trafficking.

Two of their accomplices received life sentences.

All of the defendants were from Mộc Châu District in the northern mountainous province of Sơn La.

Hà Văn Thành, 38, Lò Thị Lập, 45 and Hà Thị Thanh, 41, received death sentences. Hoàng Văn Hùng, 23, and Nguyễn Văn Hiếu, 43, received life sentences.

The court also sentenced Bùi Minh Quang, 18, to 18 years in prison.

Hà Thị Thanh is the mother of Hoàng Văn Hùng and Bùi Minh Quang.

Police are still hunting for Trần Phương Lan from Hai Bà Trưng District in Hà Nội, who has thus far evaded capture.

The court heard that on July 5 last year, Mộc Châu District Police caught Hà Văn Thành with more than 4.6kg of heroin and 3kg of methamphetamine.

Widening their investigation, police arrested Quang, Hùng, Lập, Thanh and Hiếu. — VNS