227 Individuals, Including Singer Chi Dân and Model Andrea Aybar, Indicted in Major Drug Trafficking Case

Ho Chi Minh City People's Court has decided to try 227 defendants, including singer Chi Dân and Spanish model Andrea Aybar Carmona, from August 17 to September 12. They face charges of illegal drug trafficking, trading, organizing drug use, possession, failure to report crimes, and concealment of crimes, as well as illegal property appropriation. Singer Chi Dân, also known as Nguyễn Trung Hiếu, along with his brother Nguyễn Trung Tín, aged 44, and Nguyễn Đỗ Trúc Phương, dubbed the "charity fairy," are being tried for organizing illegal drug use. Model Andrea Aybar Carmona, known as An Tây, is indicted for organizing illegal drug use and illegal possession. This group is identified as sourcing drugs from a network led by Hoàng Sỹ Thắng, aged 39, from Nghệ An province. Thắng and four other defendants are currently fugitives and will be tried in absentia. The trial will be public, conducted both in person and online, with the main court at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court and a remote point at Chí Hòa Detention Center (T30) under the Ho Chi Minh City Police. The trial will be presided over by Judge Vũ Thanh Lâm, Chief Judge of the Criminal Court of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court. Six prosecutors from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy will represent the prosecution, and over 120 lawyers will defend the accused. Hoàng Sỹ Thắng is identified as the ringleader. His actions and those of his accomplices were uncovered during the expanded investigation into a drug trafficking ring smuggling illicit substances from France to Vietnam via air, involving four flight attendants from Vietnam Airlines. The incident was detected on the morning of March 16, 2023, when customs officials at Tan Son Nhat International Airport inspected the luggage of four flight attendants after noticing unusual signs on the X-ray scanner. Direct inspection revealed over 8 kg of ecstasy, more than 3 kg of ketamine (a high-value "tray drug"), and cocaine hidden within the suitcases. Following this discovery, the Ho Chi Minh City Police, in coordination with various forces, established a special investigation, codenamed VN10, to combat and dismantle the entire network. During the expanded investigation, the Anti-Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (PC04) of the Ho Chi Minh City Police arrested numerous individuals supplying drugs to groups associated with singer Chi Dân and model An Tây. Andrea Aybar Carmona, also known as model An Tây, at the time of her arrest. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Police. According to the investigation, the network's total drug transaction value reached nearly 29 trillion VND, operating through nearly 500 branches and sub-branches in 34 provinces and cities. The special investigation dismantled each link in the network, seizing nearly 600 kg of drugs, 12 firearms, 67 bullets, and 3 grenades. The prosecution assesses this as an exceptionally serious and organized case, with a very large number of defendants and a wide operational scope. The defendants are identified as having used sophisticated methods, meticulously assigned roles, and exploited cyberspace and electronic transaction methods to conduct their illegal drug trading and transportation. Investigation results also determined that the four flight attendants did not know each other, and their communication and transactions for transferring and receiving money with other defendants arrested earlier in the case arose spontaneously. Therefore, the investigative agency found no grounds to prosecute them for illegal drug trafficking. Drugs were hidden in toothpaste tubes carried by the four flight attendants back to Vietnam. Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Customs. By Hai Duyen Source: VnExpress