A Hanoi court on Wednesday sentenced two men to death and a woman to life imprisonment for drug trafficking, Vn Express has reported.
The two men, Nguyen Van Thanh, 38, Nguyen Huu Huy, 45, were given the death penalty, but the woman Nguyen Thi Tham, 36, was sentenced to life imprisonment as she has a young child, the report said. The three were arrested in May 2019.
Police found Thanh had handed 2 kgs of drugs to Tham and Huy at a café in Hanoi’s Hoang Mai District, later finding another 9 kgs in their homes and Thanh’s car.
Thanh told Hanoi’s People’s Court that he had started selling the drugs to Tham and Huy in March, amounting to 11. 4 kg in total.
Vietnam is a key route for trafficking as part of the Golden Triangle hub at the intersection of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, the world’s second largest drug producing area, after the Golden Crescent which overlaps Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
The country has some of the world’s toughest drug laws and those convicted of possessing or trafficking over 600 grams of heroin or 2.5 kg methamphetamine can receive the death penalty, as can those producing or selling over 300 grams of other drugs, the report said.
Drug trafficking has been on the increase in Vietnam in recent years, despite the strong sentencing.
