Jonas Vong fronts court over cocaine trafficking
A former competitive bodybuilder and Finks bikie busted with more than $2m worth of coke and a loaded firearm near a children’s play area is now a drug rehab mentor.
South East
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A former Victorian bodybuilder and Finks bikie has been jailed after he was caught slinging big money coke deals from his home where cops also recovered a loaded firearm from a children’s play area.
Jonas Barreto Vong, 34, fronted the County Court on Tuesday where he was sent to prison for seven years for what Judge Peter Lauritsen described as a “sophisticated” drug trafficking operation.
The heavily-tattooed muscle man pleaded guilty to five charges, including trafficking in a commercial quantity of cocaine and MDMA, dealing with proceeds of crime and possessing an unregistered firearm.
The court heard Australian Federal Police raided Vong’s Rowville home as part of a large police operation on June 23, 2023, uncovering a swathe of drugs and cash.
Detectives seized 2.4kg of cocaine, 704 grams of MDMA and $205,700 cash in a shopping bag inside the Karoo Rd house.
Blocks of cocaine were branded “Polo Club” with an image of a person riding a horse, with others stamped with the Crown logo for Rolex.
An unregistered loaded handgun was also located in the living room under an ottoman near children’s toys.
The extent of Vong’s drug deals were revealed in text messages, uncovered on his phone, where he communicated with would-be buyers on the Swiss encrypted app, Threema.
In one message sent to a person identified as “Dr Evil”, he posted a video of a block of the Polo Club-branded cocaine, saying, “Smells good, you want to take (a) full one”.
In another conversation with a buyer, Vong texted: “Do you need sniff (referring to cocaine) here in melb sexy.”
Judge Lauritsen said the seriousness of Vong’s crimes were reflected in the maximum penalty available of life imprisonment for drug traffickers.
“Your trafficking offences are obviously extremely serious,” Judge Lauritsen said.
“You used coded language and an encrypted app.
“Your crimes demand lengthy terms of imprisonment.”
The experienced judge said the fact the loaded handgun was found near where children were playing with their toys added to the seriousness of the offending.
The court heard Vong, who placed second in the teenage men’s category at the INBA Victorian Natural Bodybuilding Title in 2010, had turned to the Finks outlaw motorcycle gang following the death of his sister.
After moving to Australia from East Timor with limited English, he found schooling in Melbourne difficult and started drinking at the age of 12 or 13, tried ecstasy at 14 and methamphetamine at 16.
The court heard Vong had stopped using amphetamines for a while as the Finks bikies didn’t approve, instead recommending he take cocaine.
But since his arrest, and bail into a rehabilitation clinic, Judge Lauritsen said Vong had become a mentor and guide to those in the early stages of their drug rehabilitation.
The judge said Vong’s prospects of rehabilitation were very good and that he had made an impression on a large number of people working as a mentor.
Vong was also charged with failing to comply with an order to provide the AFP with the passcode to his iPhone X.
He will be eligible for parole after serving four years and nine months of his sentence.
