Methamphetamine mega bust sentence: Australian incarcerated for over 109kg of hidden drugs

An Australian man who admitted possessing more than 100kg of methamphetamine for supply was sentenced to 14 years and seven months in prison.

Alan Tran, 27, arrived at Auckland Airport on June 17 last year and was joined by Michael Eugenio Navarro 15 days later.

Although their arrival cards indicated that they were visiting the country for a short time, customs investigators established that the men had rented a storage unit.

On July 25, Customs investigators carried out search warrants at the Manurewa storage unit and where the men were staying.

A search of the storage unit found 142 black and green plastic storage pallets, 51 of which contained methamphetamine in hidden compartments.

Two had already been partially disassembled.

Authorities also found clandestine laboratory equipment in a locked room, including gas bottles, methylated spirits, cooking pots and other items.

Four A4 size ziplock bags of white powder that had come off the pallets were also discovered in this room.

The total loot amounted to 109.6 kg of methamphetamine, the court heard.

Crown prosecutor Nick Webby said Tran was more than a receiver, as he rented a truck to move the drugs and later helped extract them.

Defense attorney Ron Mansfield said his client was recruited from Australia when he was at a loss as to what to do with his life.

“It is perfectly clear that Mr. Tran was at the lowest end of the chain.”

Tran initially thought he was helping to set up a warehouse, but he remained involved when he realized there were drugs because he was already “involved” in what was going on.

Mansfield said Tran is still a young man, having a partner and a very young child waiting for him at his home in Australia.

“He doesn’t have a support network here.”

Given the current climate, travel between the two countries was virtually impossible, he said. “She is as far away from her family as if they were in the UK.”

There was no prospect that he would see his son for a long time, he said.

“For him that is heartbreaking. He has made a serious mistake, there is no doubt about it.”

Judge Paul Davison said the methamphetamine was tested by ESR and found to be 80 percent pure. Therefore, it was worth between $ 29 million and $ 54 million.

This could have caused more than $ 135 million in damage to the community, the court heard.

The court heard that Tran’s family had originally fled to Australia to escape the genocide in Cambodia.

Tran felt the pressure to succeed when his family had arrived with nothing, Judge Davison said.

He was bullied at school, moving around multiple times, before falling into “the wrong crowd” when he started skipping classes, drinking and smoking.

He was unemployed when he met Navarro, who recruited him to the company, the court heard.

“In my opinion, his role was more serious than that of a simple receiver,” said the Superior Court judge.

“He says he was afraid of retaliation and that if he backed out and alerted the police, he could get in trouble.”

Tran maintained that he did not initially know what he was getting involved in and remained involved out of fear, the court heard.

“I find that explanation somewhat implausible.”

It must have become obvious at some point what he was involved in, he said.

“It was the money that motivated you and you were prepared to take the risk of getting involved.”

You could say that it was a pair of volunteer hands with no organizational role, he said.

It was a “significant business deal” and the degree of “misery and destruction” this could have caused in the community was profound, he said.

Judge Davison sentenced Tran to 14 years and seven months in prison.

The severity of the crime required a minimum prison term of seven years, he said.