HANOI: The Hanoi People’s Court on Wednesday (Aug 5) sentenced 50 defendants following a one-day trial for organising illegal drug use at a karaoke bar in the capital city.
The court described the case as a "very serious" organised crime operation that took place over an extended period at the Quynh Trang Karaoke Bar, involving a total of 53 defendants.
The court sentenced Nguyen An Viet, the manager and operator of the karaoke bar, to nine years for "organising the illegal use of narcotics" and eight years for "illegal drug trafficking."
With a combined 17-year sentence, plus a 15-month term from a previous conviction by the Dan Phuong District People's Court, Viet will serve a total of 18 years and three months.
His wife, Nguyen An Viet, received a seven-year sentence for "organising the illegal use of drugs." Meanwhile, Viet’s uncle, Hoang Duc Phu, was sentenced to nine years for drug-related charges and an additional year for "violating regulations on the protection of endangered and rare animals."
Other 37 defendants were sentenced ranging from seven to 16 years in prison for the crimes of "organising illegal use of narcotics" and "Illegal trading of narcotics".
The remaining 10 defendants in the case were all sentenced to nine months in prison but were given suspended sentences for the same crime of "Failure to report crimes".
Defendant Phu is the owner of the business but assigned Viet and his wife to manage and operate the bar.
To gain illegal profits, the defendants arranged for clients to illegally use drugs at theatre rooms by arranging locations, staffing, preparing tools, providing drugs at customers' requests, assigning service staff, guarding and performing other necessary tasks to facilitate the illegal use of drugs at the bar.
According to the first instance judgment, from the end of 2024 to June 2025, Phu, Viet, Ha and their accomplices repeatedly arranged for many guests to illegally use drugs at their bar.
Phu earned an illegal profit of VND6.1 billion (US$232,000), of which Viet and Ha were paid VND300 million (US$11,500).
Phu was also found in illegal possession of a tiger skin, a species strictly protected under Group IB of the list of endangered and rare animals.
During the investigation, Phu voluntarily surrendered VND3 billion (approximately US$114,000) in illegal profits to the authorities. - Vietnam News/ANN
