Defendant Vu Hoang Oanh at the trial on December 25, 2024

The case file shows that from 2019 to 2022, defendant Vu Hoang Oanh (also known as Oanh Ha, 67 years old, from Hai Phong) organized and directed a drug trafficking ring from Cambodia to Vietnam for consumption in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh , Hanoi and neighboring provinces. Previously, Oanh was wanted by the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (C04), Ministry of Public Security for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking" and also had an international arrest warrant from Interpol. Despite being wanted, Oanh still led a transnational drug trafficking ring, recruiting many followers who were also dangerous elements.

Initially, Vu Hoang Oanh hired Nguyen Van Nam (34 years old, from Hai Phong) to transport a total of 34 cakes (nearly 13 kg) of drugs through a small-scale route near the border gate of An Giang province to Ho Chi Minh City to deliver to Oanh's customers. Later, in Ho Chi Minh City, Oanh hired Nguyen Anh Bao Quoc ( Ho Chi Minh City) to receive drugs from other links or directly receive old car transmissions with drugs hidden inside to deliver to Nam and other customers. In the North, Oanh directed Nguyen Van Nam to go to Ho Chi Minh City to get drugs from Quoc or from a woman in Ngo Cay Sung, District 8 and receive old car transmissions with drugs hidden inside, transport them to Hai Phong to deliver to customers.

To conceal his criminal activities, Vu Hoang Oanh rented a casino near the Cambodian border as his operating location. This ring used many sophisticated tricks such as hiding drugs in cargo containers, pig stomachs, plastic beads, and old car gearboxes. In particular, the subjects communicated and directed via the social network Signal, using foreign phone SIM cards, and nicknames such as “Colombia” and “Mosscau”. Some special codes, such as the serial number on banknotes, were also used as passwords for drug delivery.

Vu Hoang Oanh herself used phone SIM cards from countries like the UK and the US to contact and direct her juniors. When communicating, Oanh always used a fake name, even disguised herself and covered her face when Facetime to avoid being identified. Each accomplice was given nicknames by Oanh such as Oc, Vit, Bua, Kim... The defendants used an intermediary account named Hoang Cong Tu to make payments for the illegal purchase and transportation of drugs with a total amount of about 1,400 billion VND.

In court, the defendants stated that they had successfully transported 129 car gearboxes from Cambodia, each of which contained approximately 50 kg of drugs (a total of more than 6.4 tons). However, these statements did not specify the time, quantity, or type of drugs delivered. Therefore, within the scope of the case brought to trial, the prosecution only prosecuted the defendants for the acts of buying, selling, transporting, and storing 626 kg of drugs.

According to the Trial Council, the case committed by Vu Hoang Oanh and his accomplices is of a particularly serious and transnational nature, with Vietnamese defendants living abroad colluding with people in the country. The defendants' crimes took place over a long period of time with many participants, and the amount of drugs committed was particularly large. The defendants committed organized crimes twice or more, and had previous convictions for particularly serious and very serious crimes. When sentencing, the court noted that the defendants had certain mitigating circumstances, but the amount of drugs committed was particularly large, so it was not possible to consider reducing the sentence. Therefore, the Trial Council believes that severe punishment is needed, especially for the ringleaders.

During the trial, Vu Hoang Oanh did not admit to the crime and stated that she did not accept the prosecution decision, did not illegally trade in drugs, and did not know the other defendants. The Trial Council rejected the above statement and affirmed that the indictment was correct in terms of the person and the crime, and there was no injustice.

Oanh also stated that in 2019 she was seriously ill and then arrested in Cambodia, so she did not commit the crime as accused. Regarding this statement, the Trial Panel also determined that there was no basis for consideration, and the defendant did not provide any evidence to prove it, so it was rejected.

The court acknowledged the active cooperation of defendant Nguyen Van Nam (34 years old, residing in Hai Phong) who confessed honestly and contributed to helping the investigation agency solve the case. However, the defendant committed the crime with an especially large amount of drugs, so the sentence could not be reduced.

Regarding the defendant Luong Thi Thu Huyen (Nguyen Van Nam’s girlfriend), the court held that the defendant was pregnant at the time of the crime and the child died after birth. However, the defendant then committed a crime with an especially large amount of drugs, so the leniency policy could not be applied.

Based on the case file, the Trial Council determined that Vu Hoang Oanh was the mastermind and leader of the drug trafficking ring of 626 kg, so it sentenced him to death for the crimes of "Illegal trading of narcotics" under Clause 4, Article 251 of the Penal Code and "Illegal transportation of narcotics" under Clause 4, Article 251 of the Penal Code; at the same time, the defendant was forced to pay a fine of 200 million VND.

The Trial Council sentenced to death 26 accomplices: Nguyen Van Nam, Nguyen Anh Bao Quoc, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Nguyen Van Vu, Luong Thi Thu Huyen, Pham Ngoc Son, Nguyen Tri Phuong, Lu Tai Luong, Vu Thi Hoi, Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Pham The Anh, Nguyen Van Quang, Dao Van Quynh, Nguyen Van Vu, Pham Ngoc Son, Pham Cong Gian, Nguyen Thanh Son, Hoang Thu Ngan, Nguyen Ngoc Minh, Le Minh Hoang, Tran Thi Kim Tham, Nguyen Thanh Thang, Do The Phong, Nguyen Van Ut Hau, Nguyen Duy Khanh, Chung Van Phuoc for the crimes of "Illegal trading of narcotics" under Clause 4, Article 251 of the Penal Code and "Illegal transportation of narcotics" under Clause 4, Article 251 of the Penal Code.

The Procuracy proposed life imprisonment for the defendants: Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Dinh Xuan Duong, Ta Thi Duyen, Tran Thi Minh Huyen, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, Pham Bich Nguyet for the crimes of "Illegal drug trafficking" and "Illegal drug transportation"; proposed sentencing the defendants Nguyen Thi Nam and Tran Ngoc Phung to 20 years in prison for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

According to baotintuc.vn