By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A man – described as the “perfect trafficker” – has been granted bail for trafficking after nearly $100,000 of drugs were seized during a police raid of his home in Latimer Street, Noble Park.
So Aung, 33, runs his business Perfect Lawn Care Services and lives with his wife and three children in the home, Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard on 10 October.
It had been guarded inside and out by CCTV and stashed with deal bags and foils of drugs in a multitude of spots, informant Senior Constable Joshua Tatton told the court.
During the 7 October raid, Aung was found with more than $4000 in cash on him as well as more than $1000 in $5 notes seized from his bedroom.
Police seized 396.5 grams of cannabis, 68.5 grams of methamphetamine, 38.6 grams of heroin, three grams of cocaine and 2.2 grams of hashish from his home, Sen Const Tatton said.
The drugs had an estimated street value of $98,221.
When asked to identify each stash of drugs Aung referred to them in “dollar amounts”, Sen Const Tatton told the court.
The front of the house was “family-oriented” with children’s bedrooms, Sen Const Tatton told the court.
The rear – including Aung’s bedroom – was riddled with drugs found in several chests of drawers, a bum bag, a biscuit tin, guttering and two angle-grinder containers.
Eleven prohibited and controlled weapons – such as Samurai swords, daggers in sheathes and home-made knuckle dusters – were allegedly seized from the bedroom and inside the ceiling space.
Other seized paraphernalia were sets of digital scales, and notebooks and diaries in Burmese script and with lists of numbers.
Two non-residing males were arrested during the raid and charged with drug possession.
Denise Abadee, a private forensic drug and alcohol clinician in Prahran, told the court that Aung claimed he was using half-a-gram of heroin, up to three points of ice and up to three grams of cannabis daily.
Under cross-examination, Ms Abadee said Aung wasn’t on medication for his substance use, nor “presenting with the symptoms of someone in the midst of heroin withdrawal”.
Aung’s lawyer said there was no strong evidence of Aung using drugs – apart from a bowl of loose cannabis in his bedroom.
The lawyer argued there were not yet witness statements, video footage nor undercover surveillance to confirm the extent of trafficking or Aung’s role.
Aung’s risk of re-offending would be reduced by the now-looming threat of jail hanging over his head, she said.
Dandenong magistrate Jack Vandersteen said Aung – who had a clean criminal record – was perhaps the “perfect trafficker” with a “perfect set-up”.
Mr Vandersteen described Aung’s CCTV network surveying the front door and inside the house as “like a bank”.
The prosecution presented a strong direct case and that “on the face of it” Aung didn’t seem to be using drugs, he said.
He granted bail because of Aung’s age, his ties to the jurisdiction, delays for forensic analysis, lack of priors, family support and available treatment.
Bail conditions included Aung living at home on a night curfew, reporting daily to police, surrendering his passport and being subject to the directions of Ms Abadee.
“There’s no doubt you’ve had a lot to think about in the last three days,” Mr Vandersteen said.
“You need to remove yourself from people you have been associating with.
“If people come to the front door of your residence and talk to you about drugs, you’re going to have to tell them to go away.”
Aung was ordered to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court for a CREDIT bail assessment on 24 October.
