Ngoc Du Le, a fish importer from Melbourne, has pleaded guilty to a charge that could lead to a life sentence after concealing eight kilograms of pure heroin, valued at a potential $13.4 million at street level, within his legitimate frozen products.
The County Court learned that, at 59 years old, Le organized the packing of 36 blocks of heroin among nine tonnes of shrimp and fish fillets in Vietnam.
According to Commonwealth prosecutor Krista Breckweg, a customs inspection of a container that arrived in Melbourne last February revealed that three out of 850 boxes contained heroin.
Breckweg informed the court that Australian Federal Police had previously identified Le as part of a drug syndicate under investigation for a year, led by others who financed and organized the heroin importation into Australia.
She explained that a co-accused had approached Le with a job offer, proposing that he could clear his debts by utilizing his legitimate business to hide the heroin within seafood imports.
In November of the prior year, Le traveled from Melbourne to Vietnam, where he purchased nine tonnes of basa fillets, spiny goby, and dry shrimp, subsequently hiding the heroin in the frozen product’s boxes.
After his return in January, police replaced the heroin in the Melbourne container, apprehending Le along with two others in Braybrook after the container was unpacked.
Le, residing in Sunshine, pleaded guilty to the importation of a commercial quantity of heroin.
Defence barrister Danny Holding acknowledged that Le played a central role in the importation due to his business connections in Vietnam and his past legitimate imports, though he claimed Le acted on the instructions of others.
Holding mentioned that Le had repaid much of a $750,000 business debt but had been promised by his co-accused the amount of $150,000 to help settle the remaining balance.
“He recognizes these offenses as crimes of extreme seriousness,” he stated to Judge Jim Montgomery.
Breckweg characterized Le’s involvement as significant, having been responsible for collecting, packaging, labeling, and concealing the heroin.
Judge Montgomery has remanded Le for sentencing on a yet-to-be-scheduled date.
