Jeffrey Acosta, Quoc Kiem Tran: Sydney men jailed over $650m drug bust
Two men have been handed lengthy jail sentences for being at the centre of what was one of Australia’s largest ever drug busts. Posing as a western Sydney aquarium, the pair arranged to import more than a tonne of chemicals for drugs from China with the help of corrupt border officials.
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Two men who were partners at a western Sydney aquarium business and were later linked to one of the largest drug importation busts in Australia history have been jailed.
Jeffrey Acosta, 38, of Rouse Hill, and Quoc Kiem Tran, 38, of Cabramatta received sentences of 11 and 10 years’ jail respectively over their attempt to import more than one tonne of ephedrine, a precursor to the drug ‘ice’, worth $650 million, in a shipping container from China.
The men were among 13 people charged over the large-scale drug supply and manufacturing operation, which had links to the Rebels bikie gang, when Border Force officials intercepted the container at Port Botany on June 24, 2017.
Acosta and Tran were sentenced on a string of offences at Penrith District Court after pleading guilty to importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, being 1310kg of ephedrine.
The men faced additional charges of conveying unlawfully imported tobacco products, being more than 4.3 million cigarettes in total.
Tran was also charged with dealing with $370,000 in cash, suspected to be an instrument of crime and dealing with $1.4 million in cash, suspected of being the proceeds of crime.
Acosta faced two firearms charges after he was found in possession of two pistols at a home in The Ponds.
The men pleaded guilty to all charges.
According to police documents, the pair came under police investigation during a lengthy undercover operation between September 2016 and June 2017.
In September 2016, undercover police began their early negotiations with a co-offender to import illicit drugs into Australia from China with the aid of corrupt Border Force and customs officials.
In the lead up to the importation, the syndicate co-ordinated a “trial run” with undercover officers to export unlawfully obtained cigarettes overseas.
“We thinking (sic) of bringing a container of smokes to trial before bringing the good s**t in to minimise the risk and build trust,” a text sent to police said.
Undercover operatives met with Acosta and Tran at a Lansvale industrial estate on several occasions between September and October 2016 to supply them with hundreds of shippers of cigarettes.
During one of the meetings, Tran paid $375,000 in cash for the products, supplied by the officers.
Between October and November 2016, the men travelled to China to meet with Chinese nationals involved in the supply of ephedrine and negotiated the importation of the drug to Australia via the Chinese port city of Xiamen.
Over the following months, undercover police worked with the men to facilitate fake business documentation to be used in the importation.
Working under the guise of a Tran’s legitimate Seven Hills-based aquarium import business, Global Marine Products, the syndicate co-ordinated the shipment to Australia.
On one occasion in April 2017, surveillance cameras captured Tran exchange bricks of money, worth almost $1 million.
Around the same time, Tran purchased up to 300kg of iodine online, another precursor to ice, using the legitimate business name.
The operation came undone in June when the shipment, which contained 120 buckets of ephedrine labelled as “sea salt” among other aquarium products, was swooped on by Border Force officials.
Days later, police raided the Seven Hills business, seizing $666,000 in cash, 140kg of iodine and fake company documents.
A raid on Tran’s Cabramatta home and a second address, linked to his then-girlfriend, uncovered more than $800,000 in cash.
A further search of Acosta’s Rouse Hill home and an associated address in The Ponds uncovered the pistols.
During sentencing on Thursday, the court heard Acosta ran a failing fish export business from the Philippines with his money troubles compounded by his $10,000 a day gambling habit.
It was through this business that Acosta met Tran and the other co-offenders involved in the syndicate.
The court heard that Tran was born in Vietnam and moved to Australia as a child before starting an aquarium export business with his brother.
Like Acosta, business woes and a gambling addiction drove his role in the syndicate.
Judge Mark Buscombe described the scheme as “extensive” and “sophisticated”.
“Each offender was part of the early negotiations which ultimately resulted in the importation of ephedrine,” he said.
“They were clearly extensively involved in the organisation and management of the importation.
“This was a large-scale criminal enterprise.”
Acosta was jailed for a maximum of 11 years, with seven years non parole. He will be eligible for parole in June 2024.
Tran was sentenced to 10 years and seven months jail, with a non-parole period of six years and seven months. His earliest release date will be January 2024.