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Surrey meth trafficker’s 15-year prison sentence upheld

Appellant argued fit sentence in range of 10 years
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Statue of Lady Justice at Vancouver Courthouse. (File photo)

A Surrey man has lost an appeal of his 15-year prison sentence for drug and gun crimes related to a methamphetamine smuggling operation here and in New Zealand.

Quang Dong Nguyen was on Sept. 29, 2017 convicted of conspiring to export methamphetamine to New Zealand, conspiring to produce methamphetamine, three firearms offences and was found guilty of two counts of breaching a lifetime firearm prohibition that was imposed in 2001.

Nguyen appealed his conviction on June 4, 2020 but lost. Subsequently, his legal counsel argued a fit sentence would have been in the range of 10 years.

READ ALSO: Court upholds Surrey man’s meth trafficking conspiracy conviction

The court heard that on Dec. 11, 2012, a brown cardboard box containing a dozen automotive shock absorbers was delivered to a FedEx facility in Vancouver, destined to be delivered to Aukland, New Zealand. Two Canadian Border Services Agency officers found the shocks had been hollowed out and filled with 94 per cent pure methamphetamine – worth up to $52,000 a kilo – wrapped in plastic, welded shut and repainted.

Justice Christopher Grauer, in his reasons for judgment delivered Nov. 29 in the Court of Appeal for British Columbia in Vancouver, found Nguyen’s “moral blameworthiness in this case was high, and the gravity of the offence was considerable.”

“I conclude in all of the circumstances that the judge made no error and the 15-year global sentence was fit,” he said.

Justices David Harris and Gail Dickson agreed.



tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com

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About the Author: Tom Zytaruk

I write unvarnished opinion columns and unbiased news reports for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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