4 and a half year prison sentence for 20 year old Vietnamese cannabis courier while man who terrorizes woman with his penis out gets 3 month suspended sentence
WTF!!!
Ank Vu (20) was caught acting as an errand boy for a organised crime gang and was handed a 4 and a half year prison sentence with 18 months suspended for his part in the €400000 cannabis operation.
On September 24th 2020 Gardaí were conducting a surveillance operation in Dublin following a car. This led them to a white Van which gardai observed being loaded with 2 suitcases and a large bag before driving away. The van was later intercepted and almost €400000 worth of Cannabis was discovered in the suitcases and bag.
CCTV footage was later picked up from an apartment in Dublin where the van had been loaded. The CCTV footage showed Vu entering the building with refuse sacks and later exiting with the 2 suitcases and bag.
When questioned by Gardaí Vu claimed he was unaware as to the contents of the bags and he assumed they contained pillows or clothes as they were very light. He said he was paid to collect the bags put them in the suitcases and hand them over to the people in the van. He said he did not ask questions as he was getting paid and just wanted to do his job. He told the courts he came to Ireland with a promise of work but because of the pandemic it did not work out as planned .
I wonder was Vu afraid to admit he was part of a human trafficking scheme for fear of his family or girlfriend being targeted back in Vietnam? We hear so much about human trafficking from this part of the world with many of the victims ending up working as cannabis growers in Ireland and the UK. Is Vu just another one of these victims too afraid to say anything and would rather be locked up for 3 years than have his family and loved ones put at risk? It’s certainly not outside of the realm of possibilities anyway and its why we really need to have cannabis production regulated so organised crime gangs cannot victimise people in this way.
Det Gda Gilleran agreed with Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, defending, that her client is from Vietnam with experience as a chef who spent a “vast” amount of money to come to Ireland under promise of employment.
The detective agreed with counsel that her client was either misled or misunderstood what opportunities there were for him here, then Covid hit and the accused found himself in “desperate circumstances”.
The solicitor defending Vu asked the court to show compassion and leniency to Vu and for him to be in custody for the least amount of time that properly reflects the gravity of the crime. She also told the court that Vu had an “utterly unblemished character” and he entered a guilty plea at the earliest stage.
The judge presiding over the case Melaine Greally said the Vu was “acting as an errand boy for persons much further up the chain” and that he did not have any financial interest in the drugs seized. The judge noted that the man had no family in Ireland and his sentence here would be more difficult as his family and girlfriend are in Vietnam. She then went on to sentence Vu to 4 and a half years in prison with the final 18 months suspended on strict circumstances. The sentence was backdated to October 15th 2020 when Vu went into custody.
It's crazy to think that this man who played a part in a supply network for a product that the Irish public wants gets a heavier sentence than the sicko followed a woman to her house and had his penis out while trying to sexually assault the woman. Wouldn’t it be a much better society if the justice system locked up real threats to society? Until drug prohibition ends sadly a vast majority of the work done by Gardaí in Ireland will be targeting drugs in some way.
