Karaoke bar owner in Binh Giang buys, sells, and organizes illegal use of drugs

In mid-2023, Vu Dinh Trang (born in 1997 in Binh Xuyen commune, Binh Giang), owner of Lucky karaoke bar located in Bang Gia village, Tan Viet commune (Binh Giang), became acquainted with Doan Van Truong (born in 1985, residing in Yet Kieu commune, Gia Loc). Truong told Trang that he sold drugs and that anyone interested in buying should contact him to provide a source of goods.

On the morning of April 1, 2024, Trang called Truong to buy 1 tael of "ke" (ketamine) for 1 million VND. That evening, Truong went to Phu Ung commune, An Thi district (Hung Yen) to meet and buy a bag of ketamine from a young man he did not know for 800,000 VND. With the drugs, Truong went to Trang's shop.

At around 10 p.m. that same day, when he arrived at the front door of Lucky, Truong called Trang to go outside to get the drugs. There, Truong gave Trang a bag of ketamine he had just bought. After receiving the drugs, Trang hid them in the first floor bathroom vent so that if customers wanted to use them, they could sell them for profit.

Late in the morning of April 4, 2024, while Trang was at the bar, Doan Ngoc Long, a person from the same district, called to book a room and asked to sell him 1 tael of ke. Trang agreed.

At around 11:30, Long took a taxi with two women to the karaoke bar. When the guests arrived, Trang arranged for Long to go to VIP room 4 to sing. The two women went to the room to sing first while Long met Trang and was sold a tael of ke for 1.3 million VND. Long immediately gave Trang a total of 2.5 million VND, both for the drugs and as an advance payment for the singing fee.

After receiving the money, Trang went to the first floor restroom of the shop, took 1 stick of ke bought from Truong earlier and poured it onto a ceramic plate. At the same time, he used a plastic card to smooth the ke (stir-fry the ke) and gave it to Long to use. Long took the drug plate to the singing room, took a 10,000 VND bill, rolled a straw, and used all the drugs himself. Long left the ceramic plate, plastic card, and straw under the cabinet where the amplifier was placed, then sat down to drink beer and sing with the two women.

At 12:10 p.m. the same day, Binh Giang District Police and Tan Viet Commune Police conducted an inspection and discovered Long using drugs. The Binh Giang District Police Investigation Agency urgently searched the residences of Trang and Truong. At Truong's residence, many plastic bags of different sizes and an electronic scale with a crystalline substance on the surface were seized.

The People's Court of Binh Giang District has just brought the case to trial and sentenced Trang to 2 years and 5 months in prison for organizing illegal drug use; 2 years and 3 months in prison for illegal drug trafficking, totaling a total sentence of 4 years and 8 months in prison; defendant Truong was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in prison for illegal drug trafficking.

Regarding additional penalties, the court sentenced defendant Trang to pay 50 million VND to the state budget for the crime of organizing illegal use of drugs; defendant Truong to pay 5 million VND to the state budget for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.

Both Trang and Truong dropped out of school early and are self-employed. Trang has no criminal record. Truong has a bad character, is a vagabond, and is a show-off. Truong currently has a criminal record of 7 years and 6 months in prison for robbery and will complete his prison sentence in November 2022. Truong has also been administratively punished by police at all levels 5 times for gambling and illegal drug use.