A 43-year-old man charged over a $40 million drug operation in southern Queensland has been granted bail, with his lawyers saying he was mistakenly caught up in the massive drug raid.
Key points:
- Ninh Van Nguyen was one of seven men arrested in August after cannabis crops were found in the South Burnett
- Mr Nguyen was granted bail in the Murgon Magistrates Court
- Magistrate Andrew Sinclair said the Crown’s case against Mr Nguyen was “far from bullet-proof”.
Ninh Van Nguyen appeared via video link with an interpreter in the Murgon Magistrates Court and applied for bail after he was charged with producing and possessing a dangerous drug.
Mr Nguyen was one of seven men arrested during the drug bust when Queensland Police seized more than 15,000 cannabis plants and 50 kilograms of dried cannabis in August.
The court heard Mr Nguyen had been visiting a friend at the Boondooma property, about 330 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, and stayed overnight for “dinner and drinks” when police raided the property the next morning.
Mr Nguyen, who is a Vietnamese national, has been in Australia on a bridging visa since 2013.
Read more at ABC Australia. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-11/man-arrested-in-drug-bust-granted-bail-/101522364
