Tunqiang Yu, of Blackburn North, jailed for importing tobacco and trafficking ice

A Blackburn North man who was part of both a syndicate that illegally imported $1 million of cigarettes and another group that trafficked more than six kilos of ice is the only offender to be jailed for the crimes.

Yu has been jailed for more than 11 years after he was involved in illegally importing cigarettes.

A Blackburn North man who was a “critical” part of a Chinese syndicate that illegally imported $1 million of cigarettes and who trafficked more than 6kg of ice has been jailed for 11 years and three months.

Tunqiang Yu was the only offender from both the tobacco syndicate and the drug operation to be prosecuted for the crimes, with the others having all fled Australia, the County Court heard as Yu was sentenced on July 12.

The court heard the 55-year-old had been in charge of storing and distributing the cigarettes for sale between May 2016 and February 2017 before the operation was foiled by police.

Detectives used listening and tracking devices to investigate the group, discovering Yu was referred to as “Uncle Fish Fillet” and “Fat Boy” by his co-offenders, one of whom was his brother-in-law.

A series of police raids in 2017 uncovered more than a million cigarettes between a shipping container at the Customs Examination Facility, a shipping container in Port Melbourne, Yu’s Blackburn North home, a Doncaster address and a storage unit in Lexton Rd, Box Hill South.

The court heard Yu had also been involved in preparing 6.244kg of methylamphetamine, which a group of co-offenders had imported from China inside laminated floorboards.

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A police listening device revealed Yu transported the drug-filled floor boards before he was arrested at the Blackburn North property where he lived with his former wife and two daughters on February, 2, 2017.

When he was arrested police found he had more than $10,000 cash.

The court heard Yu had pleaded guilty to importing tobacco products to defraud the Commonwealth, trafficking a large commercial quantity of a drug of dependence and possessing the proceeds of crime.

Other charges against Yu were dropped when he agreed to plead guilty to the Commonwealth and state offences, the court heard.

Judge John Carmody said his only option was to jail Yu for defrauding the Commonwealth of $1 million.

“You were an integral part of a syndicate of fellow offenders,” he said.

“Your activity was critical.”

He said he could impose a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for Yu’s involvement in trafficking more than 8.3 times the amount the law considered to be a commercial quantity.

“I assess your role in this offence as a trusted intermediary who was higher than a courier,” he said.

But, noting the Chinese national would likely be deported upon his release, Judge Carmody said he had “taken into account the principle of totality so as to avoid imposing a crushing sentence”.

Yu was sentenced to 11 years and three months’ jail with a non-parole period of eight years and six months.

He had been detained for 890 days before he was sentenced.

The court heard Yu had migrated to Australia in 2007 and had no prior convictions.