A MOTHER accused over a $2 million methamphetamine trafficking ring snared in Wodonga claimed a million-dollar bag of the drug found at her feet in a car was a foot pillow.
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Ho Ngoc, 32, sobbed and wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeves as she and her co-accused, Ly Dang and Cao Tuyen Le, both 40, were led into Wodonga Court yesterday for a bail hearing, flanked by two police.
The three were arrested after a highway patrol car stopped to help as their Ford Focus hire car sat by the southbound lane of the Hume Freeway on Friday about 7.45pm.
Ho, of Ardeer, was the only one of the three to apply for bail but this was refused as magistrate John Murphy described her foot rest explanation for the 1kg bag as “complete nonsense”.
Another 1kg bag of methamphetamine was allegedly found in the car’s boot.
A Wodonga detective with the 2kg of methamphetamine.
“I have sat in this court for over 17 years and it’s the largest amount (of drugs) I have come across.”
“The accused has also been found with a large amount of cash,” Mr Murphy said.
Mr Murphy rejected defence solicitor Mario Vaccaro’s suggestion that Ho’s lack of prior convictions and her responsibility for looking after her son, 9, met the criteria for “exceptional circumstances” over bail.
The three are charged with one count each of trafficking a large commercial quantity of methamphetamine, possessing a drug of dependence and possessing the proceeds of trafficking a drug of dependence.
The last charge relates to large sums of cash that Acting Det Sgt Ray Causer said were found on each of the accused, including $4110 in Ho’s handbag.
Le, of Smithfield, is alleged to have had $2650 in cash and Dang, from Noble Park, $1200.
Sgt Causer said police did a drug test on Dang, the driver, with a positive result prompting their search and discovery of an A4-sized plastic bag in the footwell of the back seat.
“The accused indicated it was her foot cushion,” Sgt Causer said.
The court was told that Dang — who is facing a committal hearing in Melbourne later this year on heroin and methamphetamine trafficking charges — took responsibility for the drugs, saying they were being taken from Sydney to Melbourne, where a contact would collect them at Crown Casino.
Mr Murphy adjourned the charges to a committal mention in Wodonga on July 19.
He further ordered that a DNA sample be taken from Ho.
