Two Melbourne nightclub promoters have been jailed for a minimum of nine years after they became involved in an international drug syndicate which was busted smuggling close to $60 million worth of ice into Australia.
As Fairfax Media reports, 24-year-olds Raymond Lach and An Ken Vi were helping smuggle ice into the country in udon noodle containers. The two were among eight people arrested when 262 kilograms of ice was found hidden under the floorboards of three shipping containers full of noodles.
Lach and Vi were both reportedly working with Melbourne trance promoters Majik Entertainment at the time of their arrest. Vi, who also went by the name ‘Kenny Six’, had also reportedly been involved in promoting several R&B and trance parties across Melbourne.
County Court judge Richard Maidment called it “tragic” that the two men became involved in the crime.
“How each of you became seduced by the prospect of quick money to become involved in this is very difficult to understand,” he said.
The court referred to the two as “foot soldiers”, as they were responsible for retrieving the packages and delivering them to contacts in Melbourne.
The judge further said that Lach would have collected $60,000 for his involvement in the operation.
While the pair had used cocaine in the past, they both had unblemished records before this. The pair must now serve nine years before they are eligible for parole.
“It gives me no pleasure to impose it on persons with such good prospects for the future,” the judge said, citing that both men were no longer using drugs and were remorseful.
