More on the drug trial from AP

["Toan" <toan@usa.net>]

Here's more on the drug trial

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Drug Defendant Pleas for Mercy 

Monday, May 5, 1997 4:52 pm EDT 


HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Facing the death penalty, the top defendant in a
showcase drug-smuggling trial pleaded for mercy Monday from a Vietnamese
court. 

Police inspector Vu Xuan Truong is among 22 defendants -- including police
officers, border guards and customs agents -- accused of trafficking in
hundreds of pounds of opium and heroin from neighboring Laos. 

Presumption of guilt is the norm in Vietnamese trials, and at least 10 of
the defendants in the current case are expected to likely to get the death
penalty, including Truong. 

Several of the defendants tried to kill themselves in their jail cells over
the weekend, the state-controlled Laborer newspaper said. 

Truong said Friday he did no more for the ring than hide heroin for his
colleagues. 

Before the trial began, Truong threatened to incriminate ``extremely
important'' Interior Ministry officials. Vietnam has closed the trial to
foreign journalists. 

Meanwhile, Vietnam's National Assembly is considering toughening the
penalties for narcotics offenses -- making possession of as little as 3.5
ounces of heroin a capital offense, down from the current 35 ounces, the
English-language Vietnam News said. 

===================
Hanoi Drug Defendant Confesses 

By IAN STEWART 
Associated Press Writer 
Saturday, May 3, 1997 6:41 am EDT 


HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- The top defendant in Vietnam's largest-ever drug
trial has confessed to transporting and storing heroin as part of a
multinational narcotics ring involving law enforcement and border agencies.


Vu Xuan Truong, a former police inspector, is one of 22 people charged with
smuggling hundreds of pounds of heroin across the Laotian border and into
the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. 

Truong, who prosecutors say was the leader of the ring, said Friday that he
held the heroin for friends and moved it inside Vietnam -- but denied
smuggling any across the border, the state-run Labor newspaper reported. 

``It is a complex trick used by drug traders,'' Truong was quoted as saying
by Labor. ``You ask a police captain to keep the heroin and it is safest.''


The presiding judge has predicted death sentences for up to 10 of the
defendants, who are accused of using vehicles from the powerful Interior
Ministry to smuggle heroin from Laos. Truong is among those likely to face
execution. Presumption of guilt is the norm in Vietnam's criminal justice
system, with trials largely aimed at determining punishment. 

The trial adjourned today and was set to resume Monday. Twelve more people
will face trial at a later date. 

The trial was closed to foreign reporters after Truong threatened to
implicate top officials in the Interior Ministry, which controls border
security. 

With its carefully controlled media coverage of the trial, the Vietnamese
government hopes to publicize its efforts to clamp down on drug use and
trafficking, while censoring testimony that could mar the ministry's
reputation. 

Truong's confession came during the trial's opening day, but was reported
today in Vietnam's state-controlled media. 

Among the defendants are 11 police officers, border guards and customs
inspectors. All face drug smuggling and transportation charges along with a
range of weapons charges in modern Vietnam's largest narcotics case ever. 

``In order to secure the shipping of narcotics into Vietnam and distribute
it, Truong and his associates have used every trick to influence some
government officials,'' chief prosecutor Nguyen Van Tu told the jury and
panel of five judges. 

Tu said an intricate system was used to smuggle heroin in false car doors
and hollowed-out truck floorboards. 

Vietnam is working to stem the flow of illegal drugs into its cities
through stiff penalties and a public campaign on the dangers of narcotics. 

===================

Drug Defendant Casts Aspersions 

By IAN STEWART 
Associated Press Writer 
Friday, May 2, 1997 2:38 pm EDT 


HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Twenty-two people accused of smuggling heroin --
including 11 police and border officials -- went on trial Friday, and one
defendant threatened to implicate top Vietnamese officials. 

The presiding judge has predicted death sentences for up to 10 of the
defendants, who are accused of using Interior Ministry vehicles to smuggle
heroin from neighboring Laos. 

Special forces armed with truncheons and assault rifles ringed Hanoi's top
court as prosecutors opened their case. 

Foreign reporters were barred after one of the defendants, police inspector
Vu Xuan Truong, threatened to incriminate top officials in the powerful
Interior Ministry, which controls border security. 

``I will declare who has betrayed me and I will expose some extremely
important people,'' the state-run Labor newspaper quoted him as saying. 

Truong was a top official along Vietnam's border with Laos, and prosecutors
say police found heroin and $80,000 in cash when they raided one of his
three houses. 

Inside the cramped Hanoi People's Court, two police officers were assigned
to every defendant. The courtroom was packed with lawyers, defendants and a
handful of reporters from state-controlled media. 

The suspects, clad in gray prison uniforms, stood against a wall of police
officers as a list of charges was read by a panel of judges, according to a
local reporter who was allowed inside. 

The 22 defendants, including several Laotians, are accused of being part of
a heroin smuggling ring working in Laos, northern Thailand and Vietnam.
Another 12 people will face trial at a later date. 

Vietnam is struggling to control the spread of drug use and trafficking,
which is on the rise in major cities. 

Presiding judge Dang Minh Ngoc of the People's Court predicted in an
interview this week that up to 10 death sentences would be imposed. With a
presumption of guilt the norm in Vietnam, judges often adopt the tone of
prosecutors during trials. 

Trials in Vietnam are seldom open to foreign media, but the court
originally agreed to permit several foreign correspondents to attend this
one. That permission never came through, following Truong's threats to
expose top officials. 

The Associated Press lodged a formal protest against the decision, but was
told the court was filled to capacity. 

The trial is expected to last about 10 days. 

© Copyright 1997 The Associated Press

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