A man has told the Supreme Court he did not know 1.5 kilograms of pure heroin was hidden in boxes destined for a North Queensland nail salon.
During the sitting in Mackay, Queensland man Van Dung Vu pleaded not guilty to possessing a drug in excess of 200 grams.
Crown prosecutor Tiffany Lawrence told the court that in March 2021 the Australian Border Force (ABF) inspected a package from Vietnam destined for a Mackay nail salon.
She told the court there was 1.5kg of pure heroin wrapped in brown paper bags concealed in boxes meant to contain disposable gloves.
The court heard the ABF switched the heroin for a ringer and an undercover officer dressed as a DHL courier delivered the package on March 23 to the salon, which was owned by Mr Vu's former partner.
Ms Lawrence called four police officers as witnesses, including Constable Luke Erba, Detective Sergeant Michael Anderson, Senior Constable Daniel Viliamu and Detective Senior Constable Stanley Matthew.
Alleged exchange in underground car park
During Ms Lawrence's chief examination, Constable Viliamu told the court he witnessed the package being delivered to an Asian woman and that a Caucasian man arrived at the salon soon after.
He told the court the pair took the package to an underground car park where they put the boxes in the boot of the car before the man drove the car away.
Constable Viliamu said he lost sight of the vehicle for about 10 minutes, but when it reappeared he noticed a different man was behind the wheel.
In the cross-examination Constable Viliamu's memory was questioned and CCTV footage was played to the court that showed an Asian woman and a Caucasian walking some distance a part, rather than side by side.
The constable told the court he followed the car, which stopped several times, including once to retrieve something from the boot, before police intercepted it and identified the driver as Mr Vu.
Ms Lawrence told the court Mr Vu's was phone found on the passenger seat and contained a tracking number for the consignment.
The court was told it had been used to call the courier service twice.
The court was shown photos taken of messages on the phone which showed two text messages of photos of the drugs.
Accused expected cigarettes, court hears
In his opening argument, Mr Vu's barrister, Gavin Webber told the jury the issue was whether "Mr Vu knew [that] what was in those boxes was heroin".
During his examination-in-chief, Mr Vu told the jury he expected to be receiving cigarettes.
Mr Vu, a baker by trade, said he had been between jobs when he responded to an advertisement he saw on Facebook.
He said he spoke to a person and organised to receive a package of cigarettes in exchange for $5,000.
In Ms Lawrence's cross-examination of Mr Vu, she asked whether he thought there was anything wrong with that.
"I thought that in terms of paying tax and avoiding tax … although it is the wrong thing, [I thought] it was not so serious," Mr Vu said via his translator.
The cross-examination of Mr Vu will continue this afternoon.
The trial, presided over by Justice David North, is expected to continue into next week.
