By MICHELLE HERBISON
A GEELONG magistrate has convicted a North Melbourne woman for heroin trafficking following her arrest with three others at Western Beach’s Chifley Hotel in January.
Magistrate Stephen Myall imposed a 12-month good behaviour bond on Vi Dang, 20, of Abbortsford St, and sentenced her to 28 days prison, which she had already served between 11 January and 8 February.
Dang pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin, possessing the proceeds of crime and possessing a prohibited Taser.
Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Geoff Lamb said about 10.45am on 11 January a Chifley Hotel cleaner found a deal bag of white powder and a Taser in a room after Dang and her accomplices had checked out.
“They requested access to the room to look for a phone they’d left behind,” Snr Const Lamb said.
Police found 10.2gm of heroin with a street value of about $5000 when they searched a car containing driver Nam Deng and the one-month-old baby of Dang and Chueng Sen, also known as Simon Kirton.
The group was in possession of stolen goods including three mobile phones and a Toshiba laptop, an insulated baby bottle holder containing scales covered with heroin and a Prada sunglasses case containing deal bags with eight-ball motifs, Snr Const Lamb said.
Dang was carrying $370 cash and Sen had $3260.
Police later entered Dang’s Maidstone property with a search warrant to find 14 grams of cannabis, scissors with white powder residue, 2 grams of heroin and Taser cartridges.
Bail support program case manager Maree Lavecchia told the court Dang had “shown real motivation” in travelling from Melbourne to regular appointments since her release.
“DHS is confident their child will be returned to the full custody of the parents in the coming weeks. Ms Dang doesn’t require drug counselling.”
Dang’s defence said she had been in a “vulnerable position” at the time of the offences as a 19-year-old mother with financial difficulties.
Mr Myall warned that Dang would face immediate imprisonment if caught trafficking again.
“There is no greater incentive for a parent to remain out of the criminal justice system,” he said.
“The court-imposed therapeutic structure has been successful. It’s not necessary to send you back to jail.”
