<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A young man lured with $50,000 to pay off gambling debts will spend years in jail after taking part in a major methamphetamine import.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two coffee grinders that arrived at Brisbane Airport from Guatemala in Central America on January 6, 2024, were found to contain 286 blocks of the drug.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The shipment - arranged using stolen identification - contained 53.4 kilograms of pure methamphetamine estimated to have a street value of $80 million.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/texas-floods-search-for-missing-girls-plows-forward-after-flash-flood-kills-at-least-people-in-texas/9da0f633-51b1-46f9-8b04-2e0c8ba86c6f" target="_blank"><strong><span>Texas flood death toll hits 70 as 21 children found dead</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The drugs were replaced by Australian Federal Police and returned to the courier facility.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The grinders were then put on a truck to Sydney on January 29 and into the hands of Jimmy Ong, 25, and Nguyen "Daniel" Thanh Huy La, 27.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ong and La were sentenced in the NSW District Court today after pleading guilty to attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/brisbane-duo-jailed-after-brewing-up-coffee-grinder-meth-plot/4b16a34b-09d4-4aaa-9b96-7cc987fdff9d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sobs and wails were heard from family members and supporters in the court's public gallery as the pair were jailed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The plot was organised using encrypted messaging application Threema, Judge Sharon Harris said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-man-killed-struck-by-bus-at-taronga-zoo/a059e633-1a7a-4e4d-a8b4-8e8870a3ff61" target="_blank"><strong><span>Tributes to 'extraordinary figure' in motorsport killed in bicycle-bus crash outside Taronga Zoo</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The shipment was delivered to Ong's grandparents' address in Cabramatta in Sydney's southwest, where he attempted to unpack the drugs with another man, 22-year-old Steven Chan Bao Le.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ong used his driver's licence and mobile phone to rent a forklift to remove the grinders from the truck, while La was enlisted to drive the forklift itself.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ong owed up to $30,000 in gambling debts to family and friends and was enticed to participate in the importation after being offered $50,000, Judge Harris said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He knew the grinders contained illegal drugs, but only learned at a late stage how much was contained within.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The amount of cash offered to La was not known and he was unaware of the amount of drugs, she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>NSW Police pounced on the Cabramatta premises on January 31, 2024, as Ong and Le were trying to deconstruct one of the coffee grinders.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ong was arrested immediately, while Le was seized by officers in a nearby street after trying to flee.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>La was arrested in August.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In sentencing Ong and La, Judge Harris noted both had apologised for their actions and taken steps towards rehabilitation, including getting psychiatric help.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/darling-downs-zoo-queensland-woman-bitten-by-big-cat/c94d0a80-530c-4ce5-9c41-562caa77a07d" target="_blank"><strong><span>Zoo worker 'loses arm' after being 'grabbed' by big cat at Queensland zoo</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said Ong displayed a "notable level of naivety" in the unsophisticated scheme.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both men had identified themselves by name organising the forklift and had used traceable phone numbers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair were exposed to domestic violence, and the impacts of others addicted to gambling and alcohol during their troubled childhoods, the judge said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Both received a 25 per cent discount for their guilty pleas.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ong was jailed for up to six years with a non-parole period of three years, expiring on May 25, 2028.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>La was jailed for a maximum of five years for his lesser role, with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years, expiring on July 19, 2027.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Le pleaded guilty in May to one count of attempting to possess an unlawfully imported, commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He will be sentenced on July 28.</span></div></div>