The two men were stopped on the Hume Highway outside Mullengandra. Photo: Wikipedia.
Two men jailed for transporting 42 kilograms of cannabis leaf have failed in their bid to have their jail time reduced, after the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal ruled their original sentence was appropriate.
Thong Nguyen, 43, and Van Bac Pham were stopped by NSW Highway Patrol on the Hume Highway at Mullengandra (southern Riverina) just before midnight on 12 July 2024. The pair were driving their Toyota Hi-Ace from Melbourne towards Sydney.
Officers detected a strong smell of cannabis, so searched the vehicle, where they found six shrink-wrapped cardboard boxes under some flooring. One of the boxes was opened and police observed a number of freezer bags containing cannabis leaf.
During a forensic procedure, Pham told police that he and Nguyen were paid $1000 each to make the delivery.
“I just drive the people to carry the stuff for them,” Pham said.
Nguyen said: “I don’t know because uh the people ask me to uh deliver it so, I just do, uh what they told me.”
Police seized their vehicle and the six boxes were forensically examined and the drug was analysed. There were 99 freezer bags of cannabis leaf in total weighing 42.3 kilograms. Neither Pham nor Nguyen’s DNA nor their fingerprints were located on any of the drug packaging.
However, the Albury District Court Judge found that the applicants were couriers “in every sense of the word” and were fully aware of what they were transporting. He stated that cannabis was not a harmless drug and could have serious consequences for the mental health of particularly vulnerable people.
In February 2025, the judge sentenced each of the men to three years and nine months in prison, with a non-parole period of two years.
Nguyen and Pham appealed to the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, arguing the sentences were “manifestly excessive” and that the judge placed too much weight on general deterrence. Their lawyers pointed to their early pleas, low risk of reoffending and favourable rehabilitation prospects.
But in a judgment handed down on Monday (1 December), Judges McNaughton, Ball and Hulme rejected this argument, finding the sentences were not unreasonable or plainly unjust.
Justice McNaughton said that while the men did not know the precise weight of the drugs, they “willingly engaged” in transporting a significant quantity of cannabis.
The appeals courts judges noted the district court judge had taken their background, lack of criminal history and positive behaviour in custody into account, but also emphasised the need for strong messages of deterrence in drug trafficking cases.
“[The two men] have failed to satisfy me that the sentences imposed were unreasonable or plainly unjust,” the judges ruled.
The court granted the men leave to appeal — a procedural step — but ultimately dismissed the appeal, meaning their original sentences stand.
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