The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City has handed down the capital punishment on five defendants involving in the illegal trade and transportation of a big amount of drug at the end of a four-day trial on August 2.

At the trial

The five included the ring leader Nguyen Van Phu (born in 1964). 

Four others in the ring, which smuggled drugs from Cambodia to Vietnam and from the north to Ho Chi Minh City for sale, were sentenced to life in prison. 

Meanwhile, three received sentences from 5 to 20 years in jail.

The defendants were also ordered to pay fines of 20-200 million VND (859.39 – 8,593 USD) as an additional punishment, along with paying back the money they got from trafficking. 

Ring leader Nguyen Van Phu must pay back 340 million VND (14,606 USD) from illegal proceeds from drug trafficking. 

On November 16, 2015, the police caught Tran Thanh Cuong red handed for trafficking 15 bricks of heroin weighing 5.2 kg along with 50 million VND and 5,000 USD in cash.

Cuong confessed that he bought the drug from Phu. 

Phu was arrested later along with two bricks of heroin.

During the investigation from January 9-11, 2016, the police arrested more persons involved in the drug ring.

According to the investigation agency, the traffickers traded over 20 kg of heroin and over 17 kg of synthetic drug.

Phu said he bought the heroin at 210 million VND per kg and sold at 220 million VND.

From August to November 2015, Phu bought a total of 47 bricks of heroin and sold 45 to Cuong.-VNA