On June 23, the People's Court of Nghe An Province held a first-instance trial for Nguyen Van Ba, born in 1993, on charges of illegal transportation and possession of narcotics.
Defendant Nguyen Van Ba at the hearing (Photo: Vinh Khang).
According to the indictment, Ba frequently communicated via social media with a man identified as The, who was living in Germany.
The allegedly informed Ba that drugs would be concealed inside cargo shipments sent from Germany to Vietnam. He asked Ba to receive the goods, store them in rented warehouses and later hand them over to a third party in exchange for substantial payment.
Ba received an advance payment of VND 20 million (approximately USD 770) and rented two properties, one in Quynh Luu Commune and another in Hanoi, to serve as storage locations.
To avoid detection by authorities, The instructed Ba to use multiple unregistered mobile phone SIM cards for communication.
On October 19, 2024, The informed Ba that 16 boxes had been shipped from Germany and that the drugs had been hidden inside foreign-brand milk powder tins. He instructed Ba to remain available to receive the delivery.
On October 25, Ba hired another person to collect the shipment and transport it to the warehouse in Quynh Luu Commune. Later that day, while receiving the consignment from a delivery company, he was arrested by police.
Investigators discovered more than 9.3 kilogrammes of narcotics concealed inside milk powder containers bearing foreign labels.
Following his arrest, Ba also admitted purchasing nearly 60 grammes of drugs for personal use.
After reviewing the case, the trial panel sentenced Ba to life imprisonment for illegal transportation of narcotics and 12 years in prison for illegal possession of narcotics.
Under Vietnam's sentencing rules, the combined penalty was life imprisonment.