Alleged Canberra heroin trafficker Hoang Van Dam was driven by greed, ACT Magistrates Court has heard
An alleged heroin trafficker has made his second bid for bail so he can work at a nail salon, but will face an “inevitable” jail term if found guilty on his most recent charges.
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An alleged heroin trafficker who was the target of a high-stakes undercover operation should be granted bail so he can work at his partner’s suburban nail salon, a court has heard.
Hoang Van Dam, 47, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of trafficking heroin and has been behind bars on bail since his arrest over the weekend.
Van Dam fronted the ACT Magistrates Court by video link from prison on Tuesday, where his barrister, Ken Archer, argued his client would not skip town if he was granted bail.
Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter said she was concerned Van Dam — who has previous convictions for heroin trafficking — could reoffend while awaiting trial and that the “lengthy jail term” he will be sentenced to if found guilty could be an incentive for him to flee.
The prosecution argues the evidence compiled by police is a “strong if not overwhelming case”.
Five closely monitored undercover police operations allegedly saw Van Dam sell heroin to a plainclothes operative, with the deals caught on camera.
Court documents also show text messages between the operative and Van Dam, allegedly arranging the handover of cash and drugs.
Prosecutor Shaz Naidu said: “What we do have, taking the statement of facts at its highest, is video and surveillance footage on five separate occasions.”
The court heart Van Dam’s family had “significant association with drugs” with both a brother and an uncle having convictions against their names.
“The offending was not out of addiction, here we have offending out of pure greed,” Ms Naidu said.
Ms Naidu said it appeared Van Dam had not learnt from a suspended sentence he was previously handed.
“He has just continued the same operation but this time with a more high degree of sophistication to avoid detection.”
Ms Hunter will decide Van Dam’s bail next week.