Accused ‘syndicate’ drug farmer's bail refused at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court after $11m bust

A four months pregnant accused drug farmer wept as she was refused bail after she and her partner were arrested during a police raid near Bendigo that seized 1800 cannabis plants weighing 400kg.

Cannabis farm raided by police near Bendigo. Picture: Victoria Police.

A four months pregnant accused drug farmer wept as she was refused bail after she and her partner were arrested during a police raid near Bendigo that seized 1800 cannabis plants weighing 400kg.

Hang Thi Ngo, 29, appeared in Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis after police seized 1.4 tonnes of cannabis worth $11m during raids on rural properties near Bendigo last year.

The cannabis farm raided last year. Picture: Victoria Police

The woman was arrested on November 29 alongside two other co-accused, one of whom is her partner, at a rural property on Bendigo-Tennyson Rd in Kamarooka, 32km north of Bendigo during a police raid that uncovered more than 1800 cannabis plants weighing 404kg in greenhouses.

On the same day, police raided a Ducluse property, on Bealiba South Rd west of Bendigo and seized almost 1400 cannabis plants weighing about 800kg.

Two men who police say are Vietnamese nationals, aged 32 and 42, were charged with cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis.

Police allege a Vietnamese organised crime syndicate is behind the crops.

An illegal cannabis plants pictured inside a greenhouse during an unrelated drug bust. Picture Queensland Police

On Tuesday, Ms Ngo applied for bail, giving an address that her sister was renting in Sunshine West.

The court heard this address was raided in July 2023 and 418 cannabis plants were seized, allegedly in relation to the syndicate’s drug trafficking activities.

At the time, the house was fortified and could only be accessed by a “hidden entry” in a shed on a property two doors down.

Magistrate Johanna Metcalf said it was a “significant coincidence” the accused’s sister was living at an address that had been previously raided by police in relation to the syndicate’s activities.

“I am troubled by the address that has been put forward," she said.

“It’s indicative of a circle of people who are involved in drug trafficking or cultivation."

An aerial shot of the cannabis farm raided by police. Picture: Victoria Police

Ms Ngo’s lawyer William Barker said the it was “suspicious”, but there was “no evidence” that the accused’s sister living at the same address six months after a major drug raid was anything but a coincidence.

The defence argued the police’s case against her was “weak”, and there was no evidence to tie Ms Ngo to the cultivation of the cannabis.

However, police argued there was no reason for Ms Ngo to be on a cannabis farm “in the middle of nowhere” with her partner “other than cultivating cannabis”.

Ms Ngo’s partner has also been charged with cultivating a large commercial quantity of cannabis and both are facing a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.

Mr Barker argued the accused should be let out on bail because she had experienced a "series of complications" with her pregnancy that saw her taken to hospital on more than one occasion.

Police strongly opposed Ms Ngo’s bail bid, alleging she was a major flight risk.

Cannabis plants seized by police in an unrelated raid. Picture: NSW Police.

Police will allege the woman was only present in Australia to cultivate drugs as part of a larger organised crime syndicate that she and her partner were involved in and she had given “false information” to the Department of Home Affairs on her visa application.

“Her social circle is full of criminal individuals and criminal syndicates and she’s not here legitimately,” Detective Senior Constable Lo told the court.

“We see individuals who are here in Aus for the purpose of cannabis cultivation when they are granted bail … quite often they immediately fly out of Australia,” Detective Lo told the court.

Detective Lo told the court one of the men arrested but released pending investigation has since fled Australia

Three other Vietnamese nationals, a 47-year-old man, a 54-year-old man and a 57-year-old woman were all interviewed and released pending further inquiries, after another raid in Station Rd, Deer Park found 250 plants. The court heard one of these Vietnamese nationals had since fled the country.

“I didn’t have any power to arrest him, but I did put a border alert,” Detective Lo told the court.

“He got a last minute ticket and he flew to Vietnam overnight.”

Ms Ngo’s Victoria Drivers licence used the same Deer Park Park address that was raided.

Mr Barker argued Ms Ngo wouldn’t be able to escape the country because she had surrendered her passport, and her sister had put up a $10,000 bail surety.

The court heard that since Ms Ngo had been arrested, her sister had returned to Vietnam and sold land to raise the funds to get her sister out on bail.

But detectives said there was “more than one way to flee the jurisdiction” and there was a “high risk” of her fleeing.

“She could flee the state and not come back to Victoria, she could also use her sister’s passport to flee the country.

Ms Ngo broke down and wept as the Vietnamese translator communicated her fate.

Ms Ngo and the other accused drug farmers will face Bendigo Magistrates’ Court in March.