Crime of illegal drug trafficking from practice in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province

2. Research status of the topic

The crime of illegal drug trafficking is a highly complex crime, mentioned by a number of legal scholars in the Vietnamese Criminal Law Textbook, Volume II of Hanoi Law University, People's Police Publishing House, Hanoi, 1998; Vietnamese Criminal Law Textbook (Part on Crimes) of the Faculty of Law, Hanoi National University, Hanoi National University Publishing House, Hanoi, 1997; Scientific Commentary on the Criminal Code of the Institute of Legal Science, Ministry of Justice, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 1987 (reprinted in 1992, 1997).

After the 1999 Penal Code was promulgated, the crime of illegal drug trafficking continued to be mentioned in the Vietnamese Criminal Law Textbook of Hanoi Law University, People's Police Publishing House, Hanoi, 2000; Vietnamese Criminal Law Textbook (Crimes Section) of the Faculty of Law, Hanoi National University, Hanoi National University Publishing House, Hanoi, 2002; Scientific commentary on the 1999 Penal Code (Crimes Section) by Dr. Phung The Vac, Dr. Tran Van Luyen, Lawyer, Master. Pham Thanh Binh, Dr. Nguyen Duc Mai, Master. Nguyen Si Dai, Master. Nguyen Mai Bo, People's Police Publishing House, Hanoi, 2001...

In addition, there are other scientific works that have also studied the crime of illegal drug trafficking, such as: Thesis "Fighting against drug crimes in Vietnam" by Dr. Nguyen Tuyet Mai; Thesis "Activities to prevent drug crimes by the People's Police Force" by Dr. Vu Quang Vinh; Thesis "Improving the criminal law framework for drug crimes in Vietnam" by Dr. Nguyen Minh Duc; Thesis "Criminal responsibility for drug crimes in Vietnam's criminal law" by Dr. Pham Minh Tuyen; Thesis "Activities to prevent and investigate drug crimes by the district-level police force" by Dr. Ngo Dai Tuan; Thesis "Detecting and discovering crimes violating regulations on management and use of precursors, addictive drugs or other narcotics by the force" by Dr.

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"Police investigation of drug crimes" by Dr. Ngo Van Tuan. The above works have mentioned to some extent the signs of illegal drug trafficking, the situation of the fight, prevention and criminal responsibility for this type of crime. However, the situation of illegal drug trafficking in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province has not been studied in detail and specifically in any published work or doctoral thesis, perhaps because of the specificity of being only an administrative district under Tay Ninh province, research works and published books often only study larger areas such as the Southeast, Northwest, Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, etc.

3. Research purpose and tasks

- Research purpose: The purpose of the research is to present and analyze some theoretical aspects and the application of Article 251 in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province; then point out the achieved results, barriers, difficulties and causes in practice; propose specific solutions to improve the law as well as improve the effectiveness of law application in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province.

- Research tasks:

First , analyze some theoretical aspects related to the crime of illegal drug trafficking.

Second , present the practical situation of applying Article 251 in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province; the results achieved and the shortcomings, limitations, and causes of those shortcomings and limitations.

Third , propose specific solutions to improve the law and enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province.

4. Scope and objects of research

Scope of research

Regarding the content of the thesis, the thesis is presented coherently, concisely, and limited to the author's field of study for the Master's degree, which is Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, with some additional general knowledge necessary for writing the thesis. Regarding the location, the topic is carried out within Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province. Regarding the data, the topic studies actual statistical data of the People's Court of Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province. Regarding the crime, the topic studies the crime of illegal drug trafficking as stipulated in Article 251 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended and supplemented in 2017).

Research object

The research object of the thesis is: Crime of illegal drug trafficking from the practice of Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province.

5. Theoretical basis and research methods

The author has applied knowledge drawn from Marxist-Leninist Philosophy to complete the thesis, focusing on the application of the approach to the problem through dialectical materialism methodology.

In addition, the author also applies some separate methods, such as:

- Theoretical research methods, analysis, comparison, commentary... are used to reveal the crime of illegal drug trafficking in terms of crime composition and penalty framework.

- Method of summarizing experience: Through studying judgments, topics, and summary reports on the situation of illegal drug trafficking in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province in the period of 2016 - 2020, the author draws out the achieved results and the limitations and weaknesses in the process of determining crimes and deciding on penalties.

6. Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis

- In theory:

With the research results, the thesis contributes to supplementing and perfecting the theory on the situation of illegal drug trafficking in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province in the period of 2016 - 2020; clarifying the work of preventing drug-related crimes in Tan Chau district in the past time. Moreover, this work also contributes to enriching the country's academic theses, which the next generations of Masters of Law, not only at the Academy of Social Sciences but also at other educational institutions across the country, can refer to to further improve their knowledge and theoretical level.

- In practice:

The results of this project can serve as a summary of practical actions to prevent socio-economic crimes, specifically drug trafficking, in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province. From there, it can be customized and applied to border districts with similar geographical and socio-economic characteristics to Tan Chau across the country.

The thesis also deepens and consolidates the research on the practical application of the law on the crime of illegal drug trafficking in border districts, something that other thesis works pay little attention to. Because in reality, when conducting research on the practical application of a certain type of crime, people often choose large geographical areas such as regions and provinces, ignoring strategic border districts. The strategic nature of these districts lies in the fact that they border international drug trafficking and transportation hubs. Therefore, it can be said that the thesis is a new, bold direction on the crime of illegal drug trafficking.

7. Structure of the thesis

The thesis has the following structure: introduction, list of abbreviations, list of tables, list of references, conclusion and main content:

Chapter 1: Theoretical and legal issues on the crime of illegal drug trafficking

Chapter 2: Practical application of criminal law to the crime of illegal drug trafficking in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province

Chapter 3: Some solutions to improve the law and enhance the effectiveness of the trial of the crime of illegal drug trafficking in Tan Chau district, Tay Ninh province

Chapter 1

THEORETICAL AND LEGAL ISSUES ON THE CRIME OF ILLEGAL DRUG TRAFFICKING

1.1. Theoretical issues on the crime of illegal drug trafficking

1.1.1. Concept of drugs

Oriental medicine, whose core is Chinese medicine, has studied and applied plants and herbs in the treatment of diseases. Among those plants are opium, cannabis, coca... and later people also discovered their harmful effects. In Vietnam, the term "drug" first appeared to mean opium, then cannabis and coca. Due to the form of this word, along with the historical periods when drugs spread following the French colonialists, corrupting social and moral values, there has been a default perception in the Vietnamese people from ancient times until now that drugs go hand in hand with the destruction of the human body and mind. Regarding the origin of drugs, we have the most primitive preparations that are distilled from nature, specifically from poppies, cannabis plants, etc. At the same time, along with the development of science and technology, along with the need to produce large quantities of finished drug products at lower costs to increase profits and reduce time to market, criminals have also found ways to prepare synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine from chemical laboratories. Therefore, the concept of drugs has been expanded in content, in different countries, the concept of drugs is also conceived differently. Drugs is a word of Chinese origin whose most general meaning can be translated and understood as "causing intoxication". Today, the three words "Drugs" refer to a series of addictive substances, loss of mental control, hallucinations; but in fact, going back in history, there was a time when awareness of their terrible harms and the way they were used were not yet clear.

Aiming to relieve pain and anesthesia, drugs were once simply understood to be similar to anesthetics, sleeping pills or pain relievers for patients. Generally speaking: Drugs are chemicals of natural or artificial origin that, when entering the human body, will have the effect of changing mood, consciousness and intelligence, making people dependent, causing harm and danger to users and the community.

According to the Law on Drug Prevention and Control (LPCMT) of our country promulgated on December 22, 2000 (amended and supplemented in 2008), it is stipulated that:

- Narcotic substances are addictive substances and psychotropic substances specified in the list issued by the Government.

- Addictive substances are stimulants or depressants that easily cause addiction in users.

- Psychotropic substances are stimulants that inhibit the nervous system or cause hallucinations. If used repeatedly, they can lead to addiction in the user.

- Precursors are indispensable chemicals in the process of preparing and producing narcotics as specified in the list issued by the Government. [13]

According to Decree No. 82/2013/ND-CP dated July 19, 2013 of the Government promulgating the lists of narcotic substances and precursors, narcotic substances include 227 substances, divided into 03 lists and 22 indispensable chemicals in the process of preparing controlled narcotic substances. [6]

Article 61 of the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam stipulates: It is strictly forbidden to illegally produce, transport, trade, store, and use opium and other narcotic substances [11]. The Law on Drugs and Drug Abuse, passed by the 8th session of the 10th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on December 9, 2000, defined narcotics as addictive substances and psychotropic substances specified in the lists issued by the Government [12].

From the above analysis, the concept of drugs can be given as follows: Drugs are addictive substances, psychotropic substances specified in the lists issued by the Government, when used, they cause stimulation or inhibition of the nervous system or cause hallucinations, if used repeatedly, they will cause addiction to the user.

1.1.2. Concept of Crime of illegal drug trafficking

According to Dr. Pham Minh Tuyen, drug crimes are defined as follows: “Drug crimes are socially dangerous acts committed by people with criminal responsibility, of age to bear criminal responsibility, at fault, violating the state's drug management and use regime, thereby causing damage to the interests of the State, society and citizens, causing social disorder and insecurity” . [21] Thus, there are enough arguments and grounds to declare the terrible harms of drug-related crimes to the community, including social disorder, threatening the healthy development of future generations, spreading Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, and corrupting moral values and customs. Because of those terrible and terrible harms, authorities at all levels and competent agencies always strive to suppress and extinguish the beginnings of drug crimes in the bud, in order to maintain the purity of the security environment.

In section 3.3, part II of Circular 17, the guidance on the crime of illegal drug trafficking is as follows: “3.3. Illegal drug trafficking is one of the following acts: a) Illegally selling drugs to others (regardless of the origin of the drugs), including selling drugs on behalf of others for remuneration or other benefits; b) Buying drugs to illegally sell to others; c) Asking for drugs to illegally sell to others; d) Using drugs to illegally exchange for payment (regardless of the origin of the drugs); e) Using assets other than money to exchange, pay... for drugs to illegally resell to others; e) Storing drugs for illegal sale