HEROIN SMUGGLER GETS 7-YEAR TERM

While a Toronto woman accused of being a heroin mule awaits a firing squad
in a Vietnamese prison, an accused ringleader of the same drug-importing
ring was sentenced to less than eight years in a Canadian prison.

Tran Ly, 41, convicted of trafficking in heroin, was sentenced to seven
years and 7BD months yesterday by Madam Justice Frances Kiteley of the
Superior Court of Justice.

Nguyen Thi Hiep, meanwhile, is the only Canadian in the world known to be
facing a death sentence after being convicted on drug charges, police and
federal officials say.

As Nguyen, 42, awaits her fate on death row in a rat-infested cell at Xuan
Phuong detention centre in Hanoi, her 74-year-old mother, Tran Thi Cam, is
facing a life sentence for carrying heroin as part of the same scheme at the
Thanh Xuan detention camp about 30 kilometres outside of Hanoi. Both women
claim innocence.

Ly was alleged to be one of the ringleaders in the drug-smuggling scheme
between Toronto and Vietnam, in which women were used as mules to transport
heroin in decorative Oriental panels.

Although technically he was given a 10-year sentence, he was given a credit
of 28BD months for time served.

Chu Dong, 43, was also found guilty of trafficking.

Two months earlier, a third man, Phu Hoa of Mississauga, was jailed for 14
years after admitting to a role in the operation.