Vietnamese nationals plead guilty to commercial cultivation of cannabis on Mid-North Coast
Four Vietnamese nationals will be sentenced in October over one of the largest ever police cannabis seizures in the state’s history.
Mid-North Coast
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Four Vietnamese nationals who took part in cultivating one of the largest seizures of cannabis in NSW on the Mid-North Coast will be sentenced in October.
Dang Thanh Nguyen, Tuan Anh Nguyen, Ha Anh Pham and Con Huang Ngyuen have pleaded guilty to knowingly taking part in cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis that police estimate was worth about $40 million.
The men were committed to the Taree District Court on Tuesday by Magistrate Allison Hawkins, who spoke to them on audiovisual link via an interpreter.
The men had all been facing charges of cultivating a large commercial quantity of a prohibited plant, participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity and supplying a commercial quantity of cannabis, but these were all withdrawn by the Crown.
A sentence date will be fixed for the four on October 5.
In November 2019, detectives from the State Crime Command’s Drug and Firearms Squad, assisted by the Australian Crime Intelligence Commission (ACIC), established Strike Force Harthouse to investigate the cultivation and supply of cannabis across NSW.
As inquiries continued, detectives uncovered three properties being used for the alleged large-scale cultivation of cannabis.
Court documents revealed how police undertook surveillance at three rural properties on the Mid-North Coast.
There are 13 Vietnamese and one Thai national currently before the courts on charges relating to the cultivation of cannabis. It is not known which of the three farms the four men committed for sentence where attached to.
Two other men, Van Nhang Pham and Quan Huy Nguyen, had their matters adjourned at Taree Local Court to September 7. They have not entered pleas.
Quan Huy Nguyen’s barrister Joe Klarica made an application for bail on Wednesday, which was refused by Magistrate Hawkins due to the “strong circumstantial evidence” detailed against the accused.
Mr Klarica told the court that Mr Nguyen had only arrived at the property one or two weeks prior to the arrest, and had not been an active member of the alleged cultivation process.
The DPP Prosecutor denied that was the case, telling the court that Mr Nguyen had been seen “winding up sides” to a greenhouse facility in the police surveillance.
“The accused is seen by police hiding outside the greenhouse and transporting harvest,” she said.
She said a number of the accused all signed agreed facts which allegedly expose Mr Nguyen‘s involvement.
“The crown says there is a strong case and there are acts of harvesting including transporting plants and winding up the sides of the greenhouses which are evidence of cultivation,” she said.
Mr Klarica said none of the surveillance depicts Mr Nguyen engaging in “the acts the crown alleges.”
Magistrate Hawkins said the balance of the police brief indicated the allegations were serious.
“These are very serious allegations involving an allegation of cultivation of many thousand plants with an estimated value of $16 million dollars,” she said.
“The facts indicate a very organised and sophisticated cultivation being undertaken at relatively remote rural property.
“The allegations I have before me point to a number of factors, and that is on 19 October (2020), the accused had been seen at the property being seen at greenhouses, winding up plastic siding to the greenhouses, and being involved in transporting mature plants over the property to a drying cabin.
“There’s also phone records over a number of days in a crucial harvesting period, and property of his found at the property.
“It seems with nine months in custody, it has not reached a stage of what he would be likely to receive if convicted.
“For those reasons, and the strength of the crown case, cause has not been shown and bail is refused.”
The matters will return to the Taree Local Court on September 7 and Taree District Court on October 5.
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