Vietnam court sentences 3 Laotians to death for trafficking nearly 121kg of narcotics
The People’s Court of Ha Tinh Province in north-central Vietnam on Thursday sentenced three Laotian nationals to death for illegally transporting narcotics.
Vongmounty Maimy, Maikhen Xaiyaphon, and Sisonekeo Toy were caught trafficking nearly 121 kilograms of illicit drugs from Laos to Vietnam in May last year.
According to an indictment from the provincial People’s Procuracy, the three traffickers were apprehended at 10:00 am on May 6, 2024 at Cau Treo International Border Gate in Ha Tinh Province’s Huong Son District.
Maimy had been driving a car with Xaiyaphon, Toy, and three other Laotian women as passengers when border guards stopped the vehicle for inspection and discovered 121 white plastic bags filled with what was suspected to be methamphetamine hidden beneath its floorboard.
The three Laotian men admitted that the 121 bags contained illegal drugs, claiming that they had been hired by two men from Vientiane, Laos to transport the narcotics to Vietnam.
Local authorities confirmed that the total weight of the drugs trafficked by the trio amounted to nearly 121 kilograms of methamphetamine.
Investigators chose not to press charges against the three Laotian women in the car after finding that they had been unaware of the drug trafficking operation.
By Tieu Bac & Le Minh – Tuoi Tre News – January 17, 2025