Kelvin Leong fronts court over massive drug find in Burwood
A Melbourne drug trafficker busted with nearly 500kg of 1,4 butanediol rented a storage unit under a friend’s name on the guise of storing car parts and wedding dresses.
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A Melbourne man who tricked a friend into renting a storage unit under the latter’s name under the guise of storing car parts and wedding dresses was busted with nearly half a tonne of 1,4 butanediol.
Kelvin Leong, 31, of Burwood, was found guilty by a jury on charges of trafficking 1,4 butanediol in a commercial quantity and trafficking methylamphetamine in a commercial quantity in August and September 2022.
Leong was jailed for 11 years and six months when he appeared in the County Court on Tuesday.
Judge Michael O’Connell said Leong collected packages from various post offices around Melbourne using different identities in August 2022 and stored them in a storage unit in Oakleigh.
Leong, a Malaysian national, was arrested in a bungalow he was living in on Tennyson St in Burwood on September 13, 2022 and a number of items including four mobile phones, a cash counting machine and $15,295 cash were seized.
Investigators located 90 grams of methylamphetamine and 24 bottles of 1,4 butanediol from a garage near the bungalow and 852 bottles containing 421kg of 1,4 butanediol in a storage facility in Oakleigh.
Judge O’Connell said Leong told a friend he couldn’t lease the storage unit and asked the latter to do it.
“You asked him to take some boxes from your garage and store them at the unit, explaining that they contained car parts and wedding dresses,” Judge O’Connell said.
He said it was unclear who owned the drugs, what Leong’s role was and whether he was acting on behalf of a syndicate.
Although 1,4 butanediol was less valuable and profitable than some other drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine, Judge O’Connell said the drugs Leong possessed were of considerable value.
Leong will be eligible for parole after serving eight years and six months.
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