Some of the cases from Sunshine Magistrates Court this week

A 60-year-old drug trafficker and a businessman who damaged his driver’s car were among those who appeared in Sunshine court this week.

A 60-year-old female drug trafficker found with over $80k and a drink driver who crashed into a boom gate before fleeing along the train lines were among those who appeared in Sunshine Magistrates Court this week.

Here’s what happened in court.

There were a number of guilty pleas and sentences in Sunshine Magistrates' Court this week. Picture: Ellen Smith

60-year-old drug trafficker

A 60-year-old St Albans woman pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin and crystal meth, as well as possessing cannabis, following a dawn raid at her property last year.

Former restaurant owner Nga Le pleaded guilty in Sunshine Magistrates Court on Wednesday to trafficking and possessing dangerous drugs.

She was also charged after police located approximately $84,000 of Australian currency suspected of being proceeds of crime.

About 6.45am on August 4, 2022 the major drug squad executed a warrant at a St Albans address where they located Le along with a male co-occupant.

In court, the prosecution said officers located 8gms of heroin, 14gms of meth and 80gms of cannabis during the raid.

They also located drug instruments, phones, rubber bands and zip lock bags.

The phones contained text messages discussing drug deals and terms such as ‘hot’ and ‘cold’, which police prosecutors said were common terms referring to heroin and meth respectively.

Police claim that at the time of arrest, the 60-year-old said she was holding the cash for some friends from Vietnam.

In court, Le’s lawyer said she had a traumatised upbringing growing up during the Vietnam War and moved to Australia in 1985 when she was 22.

While living in Australia, she had also been the victim of a serious assault.

Her lawyer submitted that financial problems led to her being involved with the wrong people but her sister who recently moved back to Australia was a stabilising influence.

Magistrate Cynthia Lynch granted Le bail under the condition she live with family in Abbotsford.

The matter was adjourned for sentencing.

Drink driver abandons car

A drink driver who abandoned his vehicle after he crashed into a boom gate was intercepted by police walking near train tracks before admitting he “f***ed up”.

Tomas Trimbonas pleaded guilty in Sunshine Magistrates Court to drink driving and in a separate incident for the failure to stop and render assistance after colliding with a vehicle.

About 11pm on June 18 last year emergency services responded to reports of a single-vehicle crash near Galvin Rd, Werribee but upon arrival were unable to locate the driver.

Police located Trimbonas a short time later nearby walking near the train tracks.

After making admissions to driving the vehicle, he accompanied police to the Werribee Police Station where he recorded a blood-alcohol reading of 0.170.

During questioning he made admissions to police that he “f***ed up” and misjudged the turn but did not know how fast he was going.

He also admitted to consuming a number of schooners before driving but could not remember how many.

In a separate incident in May 2021, Trimbonas failed to give way to a vehicle which led to a collision between the cars.

Following the collision, the court heard that Trimbonas failed to stop and render assistance to the other driver and instead left the scene.

His lawyer said that Trimbonas left because he was scared but after realising his mistake he attended the Sunshine Police Station and was interviewed.

The court heard he had a “very relevant” traffic history.

His matter was adjourned for sentence.

Business owner keys driver’s car

A self-employed Melbourne father trying to flip items online damaged his Didi driver’s car with a sharp object after a tiff over where he needed to store his parcels.

Benjamin Borg pleaded guilty in Sunshine Magistrates Court on Wednesday following a June 2021 incident at Burnside.

About 2.30pm on June 15, Borg requested a Didi driver to take him from a Burnside address to a nearby post-office so he could send parcels for online customer orders.

At the time, Borg was running an online business where he would buy popular items in bulk and then sell them on eBay.

However, the court heard he was under severe financial stress as the business was struggling to turn a profit amid issues with parcel delivery and he was highly stressed following the arrival of his 11-month-old daughter.

When the driver arrived, Borg was told he would need to put his bag containing mail in the back seat but he refused.

The driver then said he would cancel the ride which upset Borg.

The 28-year-old then pulled out a sharp object and caused damage to the rear and front door of the Didi vehicle.

When the driver exited the vehicle to confront him and say he would call the police, Borg fled and got into another vehicle nearby.

The court heard the driver later attended a car detailer for repairs.

While there was an initial restitution fee sought by prosecution, it was withdrawn and Borg was not required to pay for the damage to the vehicle.

He was sentenced to a 12 month good behaviour order.

No conviction was recorded.