Australian man gets life sentence for drug trafficking
VGP - The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City on May 30 gave life sentence to Jones Nathan Andrew James, an Australian national, on the charge of the illegal transportation of drugs.
According to the judgment council, James, 34, could have been sentenced to death, but the court took his restricted cognitive capability into consideration.
The indictment read, James was induced to take advantage of travelling to Vietnam to bring drugs back to Australia.
On October 12, 2013, James and his wife and children made a seven-day tour to Phan Thiet city in the central province of Binh Thuan.
He came to Ho Chi Minh City on May 19, 2013 and received two suitcases from an unknown person that same day.
Two days later, James was arrested in Tan Son Nhat airport when he was checking in for a flight to Australia with the suitcases, which contained more than 3kg of drugs.
At the trial, James admitted his offense.
Earlier on May 26, a 76-year-old woman of Australian nationality was arrested for attempting to illegally transport drugs from Viet Nam to Australia through Tan Son Nhat International Airport border gate, according to the Tan Son Nhat International Airport Customs Sub-department under the Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department.
By professional measures, the customs and authorities checked and discovered nearly 3kg (nine cakes) of heroin wrapped in nylon, hidden in five jars of fish sauce.
Through her initial testimony, the old woman participated in gambling in Australia and she was convinced to transport the drugs by members in the gambling ring.
The street value of these drugs in Australia is about US$720,000.
The case is under further investigation.