Source: SPP website
Case 1: Using Internet forums to commit drug crimes
"Gardener" cannabis production and trafficking forum series of cases
1. Basic facts of the case
"Gardeners" forum is a large-scale domestic cannabis forum in recent years, the forum through the invitation code to enter, with cannabis varieties, seeds, planting and other 10 sub-districts 38 sections, more than 1500 members, covering cannabis cultivation and cannabis seeds, planting utensils, smoking tools, cannabis trading, for the domestic cannabis smoking population to provide planting, trading channels, and gradually become the source of cannabis production and trafficking organization. At the beginning of 2018, the public security organs of Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province, found that the marijuana smoked by the seized drug addicts had been purchased through the "Gardeners" forum, so they filed a case for investigation. On January 23, 2019, after the public security organs transferred the case for review and prosecution, the Zhuji Municipal People's Procuratorate found that Cao Feng and seven other forum moderators managed their respective sections, publishing hundreds of themed posts about cannabis and reply posts exchanging cannabis cultivation techniques. The procuratorial organs held that the moderators have certain management powers, have a relatively high degree of activity in the forum, and use the Network to publish a large number of information on drug production and drug trafficking violations and crimes such as the cultivation of marijuana, creating conditions for others to carry out drug crimes, and also producing the actual consequences of drug production and drug trafficking, which are of great social harm and serious circumstances, constituting the crime of illegally using information networks. Zhu Bixin and 13 other members learned planting experience through the forum, purchased seeds and equipment, planted and sold cannabis, or directly purchased marijuana through the forum and found the next home to sell, constituting the crime of drug trafficking.
On May 20, 2019, after the procuratorate indicted the case, seven moderators were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year and nine months to two years and three months for illegally using information networks, and 13 members were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year and three months to four years and six months for drug trafficking. The procuratorial organs also promptly submitted relevant opinions and suggestions to the local party committee and government on improving cyberspace governance on issues such as Internet regulatory loopholes exposed in this case.
2. Typical significance
In recent years, cannabis abuse and online drug-related crimes have shown an upward trend, with diverse criminal means and strong concealment, making it difficult to verify. In this case, the procuratorial organs actively guided the investigation and collection of evidence, expanded the thinking of handling cases, accurately accused, and not only severely cracked down on drug trafficking crimes carried out by using the Internet, but also severely cracked down on criminal acts of using the Internet to publish drug-related information, so as to achieve a full chain of crackdowns and punish criminals according to law. At the same time, procuratorial organs have also extended the effect of judicial case handling, actively participated in the governance of the network ecology, and promoted source prevention and control and governance.
Case 2: Courier conceals drug case
Liu is suspected of concealing drugs
Liu is a courier of a courier company in Shanghai, and the drug criminal Lin mailed a package containing drugs through Liu, and the next day contacted Liu to intercept the package. After the package returned to the warehouse, Liu could not contact Lin, so he temporarily stored the package in the express locker. After the public security organs seized Lin, they tracked down Liu and told him that there were contraband in the package he sent, and Liu was worried about being punished by the company, so he forged a package of rice into a package sent by Lin and handed it to the public security organ. After the police found that the package was rice, they informed Liu that there should be drugs hidden in the package, and Liu still did not hand over the package in time after he knew about it. The next morning, Liu took the initiative to confess and led the police to obtain the package and seized more than 28 grams of methamphetamine hidden in it.
On April 24, 2018, the public security organs transferred Liu for review and arrest on suspicion of illegal drug possession, and the Shanghai Minhang District People's Procuratorate did not approve the arrest on the grounds that it would not cause social danger. At the stage of review and prosecution, the procuratorial organs guided the public security organs to supplement the investigation, collected the testimony of the person in charge of the courier company and the chat records of Liu and Lin, and the list of transaction transactions, and at the same time carried out their own supplementary investigation, reviewed the testimony of the police handling the case and Liu's arrival at the case, etc., confirmed that Liu's concealment of drugs lasted for a short time, from knowing that there might be drugs to actively confessing that it did not exceed 24 hours, leading the public security organs to seize the drugs involved in the case, avoiding serious consequences, and its motivation was to fear of being punished by the company, subjective malignancy, and self-surrender. Based on the facts and evidence of this case, the Minhang District People's Procuratorate changed the characterization of the public security organs, holding that Liu was suspected of concealing drugs, but the circumstances were minor, and after inviting three people's congress deputies as a neutral third party to conduct a public review and obtain unanimous consent, a decision not to prosecute Liu was made.
Express delivery practitioners who neglect their auditing obligations to facilitate drug crimes should be given special attention and strengthened supervision. This case has a certain warning effect on preventing express delivery practitioners from committing drug crimes and preventing the express delivery industry from becoming a transit station for drug transactions. On the basis of the facts and evidence of the case, the procuratorial organs changed the characterization of the crime of illegal possession of drugs determined by the public security organs when transferring them for prosecution to the crime of concealing drugs, and accurately determined the nature of the case. At the same time, through guiding the investigation and supplementing the investigation on their own, the procuratorial organs have ascertained that the circumstances involved in the case are minor and that there are circumstances of voluntary surrender, actively carry out a public review of non-prosecution cases, listen to the opinions of all parties, and make a decision not to prosecute. This also plays a positive guiding role for express delivery practitioners to actively report and expose drug crimes.
Case 3: Protection of the private economy without prosecution
Hao X was suspected of illegally buying and selling drug-making substances
Hao X, the legal representative of a private enterprise, purchased 3.8 tons of sulfuric acid and 34.4 tons of hydrochloric acid from a chemical plant in the name of the company without the filing of the public security organs, and then sold them to a non-ferrous metal company, and the non-ferrous metal company used the purchased sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid for the production of copper and activation liquid. In 2018, the Shancheng District Branch of the Hebi City Public Security Bureau filed an investigation into Hao Moumou's suspected illegal trade in drug-making substances. The People's Procuratorate of Shancheng District, Hebi City, Henan Province, intervened in the investigation in advance, guided the public security organs to collect evidence, and visited the company's production status and the storage and use of sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. It was learned that Hao xxx was the person in charge of a private enterprise, the behavior involved in the case did not cause serious consequences, and the detention measures had a greater impact on the development of the enterprise, so he did not take detention measures against Hao xx. After the case was transferred for review and prosecution on January 21, 2019, the procuratorial organ reviewed and held that sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid are the third class of precursor chemicals listed in China' management, and Hao xxx did not file with the relevant departments, that is, bought and sold sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, and his behavior violated the relevant provisions of the Regulations on the Administration of Precursor Chemicals, but the sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid sold by him were used for legal production and business activities, and according to the provisions of the Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations, Hao XX's behavior did not constitute the crime of illegally buying and selling drug-making substances. The People's Procuratorate of Shancheng District of Hebi City made a decision not to prosecute him. At the same time, for Hao's violation of the "Regulations on the Management of Precursor Chemicals", a procuratorial recommendation was issued to the Public Security Bureau of Shancheng District of Hebi City, suggesting that Hao be given an administrative penalty in accordance with the law, and carry out a special investigation of the relevant chemical enterprises in the jurisdiction to ensure that the enterprises operate according to law. The public security organs adopted the procuratorial suggestions of the procuratorial organs and carried out investigation and rectification.
For the illegal production, operation, purchase and transportation of precursor chemicals in practice, it is necessary to accurately distinguish the boundaries between crime and non-crime in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations. In this case, the procuratorial organs properly handled cases involving the private economy in accordance with law, ensured the normal production and operation activities of enterprises, prudently handled irregularities in enterprise operations, and made a decision not to prosecute those that did not constitute crimes in accordance with law. Procuratorial organs also actively participate in social governance, accurately formulate and issue procuratorial suggestions, promote the standardized and legal operation of enterprises, and provide a strong judicial guarantee for the healthy development of private enterprises.
Case 4: Continue to guide the investigation and successful prosecution after not prosecuting after doubts
Nong Zizhuang drug trafficking case
In May 2017, when the People's Procuratorate of Guang'an City, Sichuan Province, handled the case of Nong Zizhuang suspected of drug trafficking, it was returned to the public security organs twice for supplementary investigation, and although there was certain evidence to confirm that Nong Zizhuang was suspected of drug trafficking, the evidence was not yet accurate and sufficient, so it made a suspicious decision not to prosecute Nong Zizhuang. After making a decision not to prosecute, the procuratorial organs continued to guide the public security organs to obtain relevant procuratorial materials, actively coordinated the development of judicial appraisals, and carried out ideological work such as reasoning education for his co-offender Gou X, prompting Gou X to take the initiative to request the identification and identification of Nong Zi Zhuang. At this point, the chain of evidence confirming that Nong Zizhuang sold more than 2,000 grams of heroin to Gou has been formed. On February 6, 2018, the Guang'an Municipal People's Procuratorate indicted Nong Zizhuang on suspicion of drug trafficking, and on March 27, 2019, the court of first instance ruled that Nong Zizhuang was guilty of drug trafficking, sentenced him to death, suspended execution for two years, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscated all personal property. Nong Zizhuang appealed against the objection, and the court of second instance ruled to uphold the original judgment.
Procuratorial organs accurately grasp the prosecution standards for drug crime cases, prevent "sick" prosecutions, and make decisions not to prosecute cases with insufficient evidence in accordance with law. At the same time, do not let go of case leads, increase the intensity of case handling, guide investigative organs to supplement and improve evidence, and build a complete evidence system. After the facts of the case are clear and the evidence is credible and sufficient, a public prosecution is initiated in accordance with law, and the criminal is sentenced to a suspended death sentence, so as to achieve the effect of judicial case handling without indulgence to the greatest extent.
Case 5: After the protest, the three people were sentenced to heavy sentences
Chen Xiongfei and others trafficked and transported drugs
In December 2016, Liu Shaoqing purchased the drug methamphetamine from Jiang Huaguo, who contacted Wang Yi to buy it, Wang Yi contacted his superior, Ge Min, and Ge Min contacted defendant Chen Xiongfei to buy it. Chen Xiongfei arranged for Ma Zai to sell 9500 grams of methamphetamine to Ge Min, ge Min sold 8500 grams of it to Wang Yi, Wang Yi sold 8000 grams of it to Jiang Huaguo, and Jiang Huaguo sold all of them to Liu Shaoqing. Subsequently, the defendants again traded drugs in the same way, and all were arrested by the public security organs. A total of more than 20,000 grams of drugs were seized in the whole case.
On February 7, 2018, the Intermediate People's Court of Hengyang City, Hunan Province, sentenced Chen Xiongfei to death in the first instance, Ge Min's death was suspended, Wang Yi was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Jiang Huaguo was sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment. The Hengyang Municipal People's Procuratorate raised a protest on the grounds that the sentence was unusually lenient, and the Hunan Provincial People's Procuratorate supported the protest. After a comprehensive review of the case, the Hunan Provincial People's Procuratorate used relevant factual evidence to enable Chen Xiongfei, the defendant who initially "made zero confessions," to truthfully confess the facts of the crime, to guide the public security organs to re-interrogate him and to make simultaneous audio and video recordings, to further clarify the details of the cases such as the upper and lower lines, and to eliminate contradictions in evidence; to accurately determine the status, role, and quantity of drug trafficking of each defendant in the drug crime; to find out that Liu Shaoqing was suspected of drug crimes and promptly prosecute him (Liu Shaoliang died of illness during the litigation). On September 25, 2018, the Hunan Provincial High People's Court adopted the counter-appeal opinion in the second instance, upholding Chen Xiongfei's death sentence and changing the death sentence to Ge Min, Wang Yi's death sentence with a two-year suspension of execution, and Jiang Huaguo's life imprisonment. On October 31, 2019, the Supreme People's Court approved the death sentences of defendants Chen Xiongfei and Ge Min in accordance with law.
Procuratorial organs give full play to their legal supervision functions, persist in comprehensively reviewing the facts of the case, build a counter-prosecution basis with evidence as the core, break through the psychological defense line of the "zero confession" defendant, urge him to admit guilt, and through careful review and reinforcement of evidence, eliminate evidence contradictions, improve the evidence system, and at the same time promptly prosecute an important missing criminal. Through the protest, three serious drug offenders were sentenced to heavy sentences, and one of the defendants was sentenced to death and immediately executed, maintaining the uniform application of national laws.
Case 6: Prosecution of serious missed offenders
Zhang Chun's drug trafficking and transportation case
On March 11, 2018, the public security organs transferred the suspected drug trafficking cases of Lei Changfeng and Wang Jinxia to the People's Procuratorate of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, for review and prosecution. After a comprehensive review of the evidence, the procurator in charge found that an important criminal suspect, Zhang Chun, was missing from the case. The investigation found that the public security organs did not transfer Zhang Chun for review and prosecution on the grounds that Zhang Chun's "zero confessions" and the exchange of drug funds were unknown. The procuratorial organs decided to supplement the investigation on their own first, and the procurator undertook to interrogate Zhang Chun in accordance with the law, explain and educate him, and display evidence, which finally prompted Zhang Chun to truthfully confess the main facts of the crime. The procuratorial organs also communicated with the public security organs on many occasions, listed more than 30 withdrawal opinions, and guided the public security organs to supplement and retrieve Zhang Chun's WeChat, Alipay registration information, transaction records, mobile phone call records, as well as bank card transaction records and chat records with Wang Jinxia.
After conducting their own supplementary investigation and guiding the supplementary investigation, the procuratorial organs locked up the criminal facts of criminal suspect Zhang Chun's involvement in the trafficking and transportation of more than 900 grams of methamphetamine, and issued a "Notice of Supplementary Transfer for Prosecution" to the public security organs in accordance with the law, requesting the supplementary transfer and prosecution of criminal suspect Zhang Chun. After the procuratorate initiated a public prosecution, on July 10, 2019, the Nantong Intermediate People's Court rendered a first-instance judgment, in which Lei Changfeng, Wang Jinxia, and Zhang Chun were sentenced to death for the crime of trafficking and transporting drugs, suspended for two years, deprived of political rights for life, and confiscated all personal property. None of the three appealed and the judgement entered into force.
Drug crimes are relatively concealed, and there are many "zero confessions" at home and abroad, which has caused difficulties in cracking down on drug trafficking crimes. In order to ensure the "whole chain" crackdown on drug crimes, procuratorial organs have always insisted on digging deep and thoroughly investigating in the process of handling drug crime cases. In handling this case, the procuratorial organs took the initiative to supervise, dug deep into related crimes based on clues, and through their own investigation, guidance and supplementary investigation, follow-up supervision, perseverance, successfully prosecuted a prisoner who had been suspended from death, and severely cracked down on drug crimes according to law.