這起案件之所以在網路上引發巨大震撼，是因為主角只是一名年僅二十一歲的普通大學生，卻因為一次「幫網友取快遞」的舉動，被法院判處無期徒刑，最低需服刑二十五年才能獲得假釋可能。這並非戲劇情節，而是發生在真實社會中的案件。

整件事的開始要回到2020 年 12 月。大學生小寧接到一位「網友」的請託，希望他能從湖北省監利市代為領取一件快遞。對方開出的酬勞極為誘人——只要完成這次取件，他和同行的朋友「馬哥」各能拿到1萬6千元的報酬。對於仍是學生、收入有限的年輕人來說，這幾乎是天上掉下來的機會，因此兩人從河北遠赴湖北，踏上這趟看似輕鬆卻暗藏風險的旅程。

然而，這位「網友」提出的取件要求十分反常。他叮囑兩人取件時必須特別注意周遭環境，留意附近所有可疑的人與動靜。正常人領取衣服、手機殼、零食等一般快遞，從不可能需要如此謹慎。除非……包裹裡裝著連寄件與收件雙方都不敢公開的違禁物。

那件快遞正是來自雲南、重量達4400克的麻古——含有冰毒成分的毒品藥片。只不過貨物早在運送途中「被調包了」。快遞在運抵貴州遵義時，被辦案單位攔截並查獲，內部毒品全數被警方取出，重新封裝成空包裹後，再讓包裹繼續按照原路線運往湖北監利。警方就這樣一路跟監，等待取件者上鉤。

當小寧和馬哥抵達監利、按照指示領取包裹時，警方立刻上前逮捕。雖然他們手中取到的是「空包裹」，但由於毒品的原始重量巨大、整個運輸流程明確，而兩人的行為被法院認定構成「共同參與運輸毒品」，因此不因取的是空包就能脫罪。

根據中國現行法律，運輸超過50克冰毒即可能面臨十年以上重刑、無期徒刑甚至死刑，而本案涉及的麻古重量高達4400克，屬於極重數量級。法院最終裁定小寧無期徒刑，需至少服刑二十五年方有假釋可能，人生軌跡從此徹底改變。

這起案件成為近年最典型的「取件替身」毒品陷阱。看似只是幫忙領取快遞，背後卻是跨省運毒鏈條。許多年輕人因一時貪圖酬勞、缺乏法律意識或輕信網友，而被捲入刑責最重的毒品犯罪之中，且往往難以脫罪。

這位 21 歲的大學生也許從頭到尾沒見過毒品，但法律不會因為「不知道」而免除責任。當誘人的酬勞伴隨充滿詭異的指示時，那通常不是運氣好，而是災難的開始。

This case shocked the public because the main figure was only a 21-year-old college student who, after helping a “net friend” pick up a package, was sentenced to life imprisonment. Under the law, he must serve at least twenty-five years before he can even be considered for parole. This is not a movie plot. It happened in real life.

The story began in December 2020, when a university student nicknamed Xiao Ning received a request from an online acquaintance. The “net friend” asked him to travel to Jingli City in Hubei Province and pick up a package on his behalf. The reward was unusually generous—both Xiao Ning and his companion, known as “Brother Ma,” would each receive 16,000 yuan once the task was completed. For young men still in school with limited income, such a large payout felt like an opportunity falling from the sky. The two set out from Hebei and traveled across provinces to Hubei, believing they were doing a simple delivery errand.

But the instructions from the “net friend” were strange. He repeatedly told them to be extremely cautious when picking up the parcel, to watch their surroundings, and to pay attention to any suspicious people nearby. No one behaves like this when collecting a normal package—whether it’s clothes, snacks, or gadgets. Such a level of secrecy only happens when the contents of the package are things no sender or recipient dares to reveal.

Inside that package was magu—a type of drug tablet containing methamphetamine. It weighed a massive 4,400 grams and had been shipped from Yunnan. But the two young men never actually touched the drugs. During transit, the package passed through Zunyi in Guizhou Province, where law enforcement intercepted it, opened it, and removed all the drugs. The police then resealed the parcel as an empty package and let it continue its journey toward Hubei. Officers followed the shipment, waiting for the pickup to happen.

When Xiao Ning and Brother Ma arrived in Jingli to collect the parcel, police moved in immediately and arrested them on the spot. Although they picked up nothing more than an empty box, the court later ruled that they had already taken part in the transportation of narcotics. Chinese law bases sentencing not on what they physically received at the moment of arrest, but on the original amount of narcotics involved in the shipment.

And 4,400 grams of methamphetamine tablets is an extremely serious quantity. Under China’s drug laws, transporting more than 50 grams of methamphetamine can lead to ten years in prison, life imprisonment, or even the death penalty. With an amount nearly one hundred times that threshold, the court ultimately sentenced Xiao Ning to life imprisonment. He will be required to serve at least twenty-five years before having any chance at parole, meaning his life’s path has been irrevocably altered.

This incident has become one of the most striking examples of the so-called “package pickup trap,” in which criminal networks recruit unsuspecting young people as couriers by offering high pay for seemingly simple tasks. Many youths, out of greed, naivety, or blind trust in online acquaintances, find themselves implicated in major drug-trafficking cases. And ignorance—“I didn’t know what was inside”—is not considered a legal defense.

The 21-year-old student may never have seen the drugs with his own eyes, but the law does not absolve participants simply because they were unaware. When an easy job comes with odd instructions and an extraordinarily high reward, it is almost never good luck. It is the beginning of a disaster.