A DRUG dealer who tried to smuggle cocaine worth up to £44,000 into Jersey claimed he was visiting his grandparents.
Dominic Jack Tam Ngoc Dang (20) was jailed yesterday for six-and-a-half years.
Dang flew from Liverpool to Jersey on 7 September and was stopped at the Airport on suspicion of carrying drugs, the Royal Court heard.
Explaining the account Dang gave when questioned, Advocate Carla Carvalho, prosecuting, said: ‘He said they [his grandparents] lived in St Clement but he could not give details of their address.
‘He did not have a return ticket booked.
‘He also said he had friends in the Island but he couldn’t provide their details either.
‘He only gave vague reasons.’
She added: ‘The whole purpose of his trip was to import drugs for onward supply.’
Dang underwent an X-ray at the Hospital which showed he was hiding four packages containing almost 100 grams of the class-A drug inside his body.
The court was told that the cocaine had a 52% purity level, so if mixed with other substances it could have been sold for up to £44,000.
He was also found carrying £731.31 in cash he couldn’t account for.
Dang admitted two charges of importing drugs and possessing criminal property.
He said he had been told to give the drugs to a man named ‘John’.
Advocate Carvalho said: ‘He said he did not know this person and had never met him.
‘He said the drugs had been given to him by an individual he didn’t know.’
The court heard that Dang had numerous previous convictions, including one for possession of cocaine with intent to supply from September 2021.
The advocate added: ‘He is not a man of good character.
‘No exceptional circumstances divert from the court’s strict sentencing policy.’
She recommended a jail sentence of six-and-a-half years.
Advocate Rebecca Morley-Kirk, defending, accepted Dang was facing prison but requested a sentence of no more than five years.
She said Dang had only started dealing drugs to pay off gambling debts.
‘Mr Dang has been a victim of gambling from a very early age.
‘He admits it was a problem through his teens,’ she pointed out.
‘He was stabbed when he was 18 or 19 in respect of a gambling debt.’
She argued that he should be treated leniently on account of his young age and early guilty plea and added: ‘This is a person who is not interested in drugs anymore.’
However, delivering the sentence, the Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, said the Jurats had noted that Dang had ‘a history of non-compliance with community orders’.
He said: ‘This is serious offending and we take the view that a custodial sentence is inevitable.’
The Jurats presiding were Collette Crill, Charles Blampied, Rozanne Thomas, Andrew Cornish and David Le Heuzé.
