Cheryl Wierda
Contributor
Two men who arranged for cocaine to be transported to Kelowna back in 2008 have just been
sent to jail.
King Yung, 63, was sentenced to 3 and a half years of jail and Thanh Tran, 40, was sentenced to three years for trafficking one kilogram of cocaine.
Back in the summer of 2008, the court heard, Tran supplied and Yung bought cocaine, which was arranged to be transported from Vancouver to Kelowna by a third person.
On Aug. 21, 2008, police intercepted the courier en route to Kelowna and found one kilogram
of cocaine hidden inside one of the vehicle’s loudspeakers.
A later search of Yung’s Kelowna home turned up two digital weigh scales, paper and Ziploc
bags consistent with use for packaging cocaine, shotgun shells, a blackberry and a significant amount of cash.
That paraphernalia, said Justice Peter Rogers, suggested Yung was involved in the “retail distribution” of cocaine and that the drug activity he was arrested for may not have been a “one-time event.”
It is possible, however, that this was Tran’s first into drug trafficking after running into financial problems, Rogers said.
And while the men have not otherwise lived a life of criminality, they “entered into the conspiracy with their eyes wide open,” said Rogers, adding they knew what they were doing was illegal.
Denunciation and general deterrence were major factors in sentencing, said Rogers.
“Cocaine is well-known and widely accepted to have a negative impact on society,” said Rogers, noting the drain on the health care, welfare and criminal justice system cocaine users can have. “Society, therefore, has a strong interest” in deterring drug trafficking.
Crown had asked for a five year jail term, while defence asked for less than two years, to be served conditionally in the community.
Rogers instead sentenced Yung to 3.5 years and Tran to three years, noting that Yung has not expressed a “great deal” of remorse, while Tran was found to be remorseful.
The men also face a 10 year weapons ban and Yung must forfeit what was seized by police from his home, with the exception of the cash. The Justice found the Crown had not proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the money was from criminal activity.
