Four masterminds in a major drug trafficking ring in Bac Giang were sentenced to death, with eight others receiving life sentences.
Ta Van Uu in court
Eighteen people in the ring based in the northern province of Bac Giang had successfully trafficked 88 heroin cakes weighing around 30.8 kilos before being smashed.
Ta Van Uu, one among four ring-leaders, originates from Cao Thuong Township in Bac Giang Province’s Tan Yen District Uu had attracted local police attention through his consorting with known suspects.
After long-term surveillance carried out during 2010, police moved to bust the ring.
Ta Van Uu, 39, and Nguyen Van Hong, 31, in Tan Yen District regularly transported heroin from the north-west to Bac Giang for distribution. Hong bought heroin from the north-west and then sold it on to Uu. On average, Uu could earn tens of millions of VND per heroin cake.
In order to dissuade local police attention, Hong often took his primary school aged son with him whenever he travelled to the northern province of Son La’s Moc Chau District in the afternoon for heroin purchases. They would return to Bac Giang the following morning, with his son returning to school.
In the meantime, Uu rarely carried direct trading with Hong but hired Trinh Thanh Hai in Tan Minh Hamlet to do it for him. Sometimes, Uu asked his girlfriend, Tran Thi Kim Lan to buy heroin under his supervision. With these tricks, Uu and Hong completed dozens of deals.
On June 17, 2010, Hong was caught red-handed while transporting heroin at Cao Thuong Commune. The police seized two heroin cakes and 146 ecstasy tablets.
After further investigation, the investigation agency uncovered an additional 16 other people in the northern provinces of Bac Giang, Lang Son and Thai Nguyen that had participated in the heroin trafficking ring.
Four masterminds including Ta Van Uu, Nguyen Van Hong, Tran Van Thao and Nguyen Thi Hai were sentenced to death, with.eight other offenders sentenced to life imprisonment, with six others facing long-term imprisonment.
Speaking on the case, head of Hoi Thu hamlet Mr. Duong Ngo Thu said, “Drugs have ravaged many families in Hoi Phu and Ngoc Van hamlets. Hong’s uncles had been jailed for drug trafficking but he seemed to be happy to ignore the risks.”
According to Thu, Hong grew up in a poor family. His father divorced his mother when he was only six months old. He was orphaned when he was four years old after his mother died. He then lived with his grandmother.
Ta Van Uu also had an unhappy family life. His mother died after giving birth to him. Due to economic difficulties, Uu’s father had him adopted by a family in Song Van Commune. Uu however returned to his family in 2006.
Head of Bac Giang Provincial Department for Drug Criminal Investigation Police Than Van Duy, said, “In order to smash the ring, the department had to mobilise all its resources to collect evidence to support the investigation. It took huge amounts of resources to track the gang and then force them to make accurate confessions.”
The investigation took six months to break the case. The criminals admitted to trafficking 88 heroin cakes before their capture.
The heroin traffickers face death penalties and life imprisonment
