Jun Namgung: Australia Post team leader jailed over ice deliveries in Sydney’s northern beaches

An Australia Post team leader will spend years behind bars for tricking his employees into picking up parcels of illegal drugs because he owed money “to the wrong people,” a court has heard.

A team leader at Australia Post tricked unwitting employees into collecting bags of the drug ice which had been deliberately delivered to incorrect addresses, a court has heard.

Jun Namgung, 33, of Artarmon, was slapped with a hefty prison sentence of eight years for attempting to possess 1.574kg of methamphetamine.

Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court heard on three occasions in late 2020 Namgung, an Australia Post contracting manager in Sydney’s northern beaches ordered his delivery drivers to collect parcels he claimed had been incorrectly delivered and which he knew contained the illegal drug.

Jun Namgung has been sentenced for attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.

According to facts recited by Judge Donna Woodburne, on October 20, Namgung called one driver and requested he collect an incorrectly delivered package, telling him he would stay on the phone throughout the pick-up.

“The package had been retained by police and was not there when the person arrived,” Judge Woodburne said.

The next day, the facts read Namgung again called a driver and requested he collect an incorrectly delivered package and return it to him at the depot, but it had also been picked up by police.

Despite the first two failed attempts, Namgung tried again on November 1 – but was caught red-handed.

On that day, he brought a package to his workplace and told a colleague not to scan the package or tell anyone about it.

Later that day, he began to unwrap the package when he was arrested and cautioned, the court heard.

While telling the court the evidence does not go far enough to confirm Namgung selected the names or addresses the parcels were delivered to, Judge Woodburne said it was clear he “played active and important role in attempting to possess the consignments utilising his knowledge of the system and his position as team leader”.

“He was involving his unwitting colleague into the scheme, exposing her to risk… on each occasion deliberately distancing himself from the collection to protect himself from detection,” she said.

Judge Woodburne told the court it couldn’t be known if Namgung knew the exact quantity of drugs in the parcels, but he must have known it was a considerable amount given on his arrest he said words to the effect of: “it was probably something worth a lot of money for all this trouble”.

The court heard Namgung took part in the scheme for financial gain and admitted he was to be paid for his involvement.

A psychological report read in court revealed Namgung owed $50,000 “to the wrong people” after he developed a gambling addiction sparked by the stress of providing for his family when his father left them to return to South Korea.

According to that report, he had to sell the house he lived in with his sister and mother because he could not afford the mortgage, leaving him severely overworked and depressed at the time of the crime.

Namgung had no previous drug convictions, although was convicted on June 18 2020 of dishonestly obtaining property by deception, for which he served an 18-month community corrections order.

Namgung was convicted of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of unlawfully imported drug. He was given a 25 per cent discount for his early guilty plea and will be eligible for parole on January 3, 2025.