Crop sitters jailed, 65kg of dope seized after raid at Pakenham drug den
A run-of-the-mill four bedroom house at Pakenham has been outed as a drug den, with dozens of cannabis plants found growing inside. It comes as the double life of the “trusted and loyal” man inside was revealed to his shocked friends.
South East
Don't miss out on the headlines from South East . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A “trusted and loyal” Pakenham badminton player who led a secret double life in the drug underworld has been jailed.
Phat Duong, 23, pleaded guilty in the County Court after more than 60kg of cannabis were uncovered at a Salvia Ave property he was renting with his female co-accused on October 30.
Duong, who pleaded guilty to charges including cultivating a narcotic plant in a quantity not less than a commercial quantity, told officers there were drugs in his house when they came knocking as part of a wider raid on drug dens in the area about 9am.
The plants sprawled across three rooms complete with lamps and water pumps, with an electrical bypass system fixed in the main bedroom.
Judge George Georgiou heard Duong was a permanent resident after migrating to Australia with his father and sister 14 years ago.
The ex-Deer Park Secondary College student worked across a range of jobs including in the hospitality and farming industry to support his family instead of pursuing tertiary studies.
His most recent job was at Click Flooring where he continued to work while on his bail.
In character references the avid badminton player’s teammates said they were “shocked” to hear of Duong’s charges, claiming their friend was “trusted and loyal” and “always willing to help” his friends and strangers in times of need.
Duong’s boss at Click Flooring described him as a “hard working” employee who was often “the last person to leave the office”.
Mr Georgiou said a remorseful Duong faced being deported to Vietnam upon his release from jail, where he no longer had any family or social ties.
“The role of a crop sitter is an important one, enabling cannabis cultivation and trafficking enterprise to succeed and shielding those higher up from the risk of detection,” Mr Georgiou said.
Duong was convicted and sentenced on September 11 to 24 months behind bars with a non-parole period of one year.
His co-accused received the same total effective sentence on July 22.
brittany.goldsmith@news.com.au
MORE NEWS
MELBOURNE’S SEX OFFENDERS REVEALED