R v Tieu

[2019] NSWDC 485

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Tieu [2019] NSWDC 485
Hearing dates:	16 August 2019
Decision date:	16 August 2019
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Colefax SC DCJ
Decision:	Imprisonment sentence of 2 years - to be served by way of an Intensive Correction Order
Catchwords:	CRIME - SENTENCE - posses tobacco products knowing they had been imported with intent to defraud the revenue.
Legislation Cited:	Customs Act 1901 - s 233BABAD(2); Criminal Code Act 1995 - s 400.7(1)
Category:	Sentence
Parties:	Regina (Crown) Hong Ve Tieu
Representation:	Ms Lewer (Crown Prosecutor Commonwealth) Mr Jones (Counsel for the offender)
File Number(s):	2017/241035
Publication restriction:	Nil

Judgment

1. Hong Ve Tieu, you appear for sentence today in relation to one offence, that is, possessing tobacco products knowing that they had been imported with the intent to defraud the revenue.

2. This involves a contravention of s 233BABAD(2) of the Customs Act. The maximum penalty for the offence is 10 years imprisonment.

3. In addition to that principal offence, you have asked me to take into account one matter on a s 16BA schedule, namely dealing with money being the proceeds of crime where the value of that money is greater than $1,000.

4. The facts surrounding your offending are contained in an agreed statement of facts. Slightly recast by me as to style but not substance, the facts may be summarised as follows.

5. As at August 2017, you were the owner of a cigarette tobacconist shop in Marrickville. Associated with that shop were certain warehouse premises in Chipping Norton.

6. Somehow or other, you became associated with an organised crime group run by the Tran family.

7. The activity of that organised crime group became the subject of the attention of both the Australian Federal Police and the New South Wales Police.

8. Part (at least) of the Tran family’s criminal activities involved the unlawful importation of illicit tobacco products into Australia and for the sale of those illegal tobacco products through people such as you without proper duty being paid on the tobacco to the Commonwealth Government.

9. As part of their investigations, the police (both the Commonwealth and the State Police) discovered that the Tran family, in the period between September 2016 to July 2017, had smuggled over seven and a half million illicit cigarettes into Australia. Through a variety of outlets, those cigarettes made their way into the Australian community without the Commonwealth receiving the due amount of tax.

10. Your activities became the subject of the police investigation.

11. In August 2017, search warrants were executed at your shop and at the warehouse. At the warehouse, over half a million illicit cigarettes were found. The duty or the tax which was not paid on them was over $330,000.

12. At that warehouse, in addition to those cigarettes, $2,200 was found in cash. It is that money that relates to the s 16BA schedule. By having regard to the nature of the matter on the schedule, it will not result in any meaningful or significant increase in…