Brendon Kiet Bui pleaded guilty to large commercial drug trafficking after Ridleyton cannabis bust
An Adelaide chef with a serious drug and gambling addiction has been busted with nearly 20kg of drugs and $45,000 in cash, a court has heard.
North & North East
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A chef caught with close to 20kg of cannabis and $45,000 after entangling himself in a serious criminal enterprise had trappings of wealth, a court heard.
Brendon Kiet Bui, 26, awaits his fate after his drug and gambling addictions led him to make some foolish choices.
Natasha Slater, for the prosecution, told the District Court police found 19.75kg of cannabis located within two large storage bags in a room at Bui’s Ridleyton home on March 13, 2021.
The cannabis was packaged in 48 individual packages, weighing approximately a pound each.
The court heard the cannabis was valued up to $153,000 if sold by the pound.
$45,000 was located in a pillowcase in the same room.
Ms Slater pushed for immediate jail, saying Bui was a mid-level dealer and stood to profit from the offending.
“To that end, the defendant has trappings of some level of wealth,” she said.
“He has multiple properties, multiple cars and along with $45,000 cash.”
The court heard Bui owned property in Western Australia, a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and a car.
Bui pleaded guilty to large commercial drug trafficking.
His partner, Duong Minh Tu Doan, of Craigmore, was initially jointly charged but all charges against her were dropped.
Michael Jandy, for Bui, told the court his client came from a background of significant hardship, as his parents were boat refugees.
“Something had to give in the life of Mr Bui and … his Achilles heel manifested primarily in drug use and drug abuse,” he said.
“He offended to make money for drugs, money for gambling. He wanted to feed his addictions first and foremost.”
Mr Jandy said Bui, who was addicted to cocaine, was entrusted to take care of the cannabis by someone else.
“He had an expectation of being paid at least $1000 for that role for holding the drugs for that limited period of time,” he said.
The court heard Bui committed the offending while experiencing episodes of substance induced psychotic disorder.
Mr Jandy pushed for a suspended sentence, saying Bui said his arrest had been a blessing in disguise as it compelled him to stop using drugs.
The court previously heard Bui worked as a chef at a restaurant.
He will be sentenced in September.
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