A young man lured with $50,000 to pay off gambling debts will spend years in jail after taking part in a major methamphetamine import.
Two coffee grinders that arrived at Brisbane Airport from Guatemala in Central America on January 6, 2024, were found to contain 286 blocks of the drug.
The shipment – arranged using stolen identification – contained 53.4 kilograms of pure methamphetamine estimated to have a street value of $80 million.
The drugs were replaced by Australian Federal Police and returned to the courier facility.
The grinders were then put on a truck to Sydney on January 29 and into the hands of Jimmy Ong, 25, and Nguyen “Daniel” Thanh Huy La, 27.
Ong and La were sentenced in the NSW District Court today after pleading guilty to attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
Sobs and wails were heard from family members and supporters in the court’s public gallery as the pair were jailed.
The plot was organised using encrypted messaging application Threema, Judge Sharon Harris said.
The shipment was delivered to Ong’s grandparents’ address in Cabramatta in Sydney’s southwest, where he attempted to unpack the drugs with another man, 22-year-old Steven Chan Bao Le.
Ong used his driver’s licence and mobile phone to rent a forklift to remove the grinders from the truck, while La was enlisted to drive the forklift itself.
Ong owed up to $30,000 in gambling debts to family and friends and was enticed to participate in the importation after being offered $50,000, Judge Harris said.
He knew the grinders contained illegal drugs, but only learned at a late stage how much was contained within.
The amount of cash offered to La was not known and he was unaware of the amount of drugs, she said.
NSW Police pounced on the Cabramatta premises on January 31, 2024, as Ong and Le were trying to deconstruct one of the coffee grinders.
Ong was arrested immediately, while Le was seized by officers in a nearby street after trying to flee.
La was arrested in August.
In sentencing Ong and La, Judge Harris noted both had apologised for their actions and taken steps towards rehabilitation, including getting psychiatric help.
She said Ong displayed a “notable level of naivety” in the unsophisticated scheme.
Both men had identified themselves by name organising the forklift and had used traceable phone numbers.
The pair were exposed to domestic violence, and the impacts of others addicted to gambling and alcohol during their troubled childhoods, the judge said.
Both received a 25 per cent discount for their guilty pleas.
Ong was jailed for up to six years with a non-parole period of three years, expiring on May 25, 2028.
La was jailed for a maximum of five years for his lesser role, with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years, expiring on July 19, 2027.
Le pleaded guilty in May to one count of attempting to possess an unlawfully imported, commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
He will be sentenced on July 28.
