The People’s Court of central Thanh Hoa province issued death penalty sentences to two defendants on trial on September 11 for their involvement in a major drug trafficking case uncovered by local police last year.

The defendants are Nguyen Huu Bang, 35, from the central province of Ha Tinh, and Nguyen Ngoc Hung, 45, from Thanh Hoa province.

Additionally, Bang’s spouse Le Thi At received a life sentence. Hung’s wife Phan Thi Vi was sentenced to 20 years in prison, as was another accomplice, Van Thi Nga.

The defendants were indicted for illegally transporting 54,000 synthetic pills, weighing over 5kg, from Laos to Vietnam.