A man who collected packages of cocaine that had been smuggled into Australia in return for $20,000 to start a new business has been jailed for five years.
Thien Hong, 30, was sentenced in Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to possessing a marketable quantity of border imported drugs.
The Australian Federal Police searched Hong's home in 2022 and found 21.7 grams of pure cocaine as well as 251 grams of a substance containing 58 per cent cocaine.
Hong also pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying a dangerous drug, one count of possessing a dangerous drug and one count of dealing in false identification.
Commonwealth prosecutor Grace Corcoran said Hong had committed serious offences by registering mobile phone SIM cards in other people's names and using them to pick up parcels containing drugs.
"There was no sense in which he was doing this to fund his own drug use. It was purely financial, " Ms Corcoran said.
She said Hong was paid $5000 for every package he obtained, weighed and stored at his home prior to collection by an unknown third party.
Defence barrister Bernard Reilly said Hong had worked hard in hospitality after emigrating from the Philippines as a child and becoming an Australian citizen but had fallen into drug use after a family tragedy,
"He was buying cocaine in bulk to feed own use ... He reached a financial position where he had exhausted all his assets," Mr Reilly said.
He said Hong wanted to buy a share of a new hospitality business and sought a loan from a person who instead offered $20,000 for collecting four parcels.
"(Hong) took the police to the last package of cocaine. In a lengthy interview he provided a lot of detail," Mr Reilly said.
Justice Peter Callaghan said Hong's co-operation with police and early pleas of guilty were good signs for his prospects of rehabilitation.
"Possession of cocaine in such overtly commercial quantities is serious ... Cocaine is highly addictive. It ruins people's lives and destroys families," he said.
Hong was sentenced to five years' imprisonment to be eligible for parole after serving 18 months.
