Vietnamese beauty salon operator jailed for laundering $1.29 million in drug money

The cocaine was found secreted on the Maersk Antares while it was docked at the Port of Tauranga. Photo/Andrew Warner

A Vietnamese beauty salon operator has been jailed for laundering $1.29 million in drug money.

In the High Court at Tauranga yesterday, Vietnam resident Thi Lieu Le, 52, was sentenced to three years in a New Zealand prison on four charges of money laundering.

Le, who heard her sentence through an interpreter, had previously pleaded guilty to the charges, which each carried a maximum penalty of seven years' jail.

She was one of six charged after police and customs seized $20 million worth of cocaine off a ship docked at the Port of Tauranga on October 31.

The seizure was the result of a covert investigation into the importation of Class A drugs by the police National Organised Crime Group.

Le was described in court as a mother and grandmother who ran a business that owned three beauty salons and had a "comfy" life in Vietnam.

She had no previous convictions.

The court heard there was no evidence she made any substantial financial gain from the laundering and it was not clear what motivated her to take part.

Her lawyer Matthew Bates said Le became involved after being contacted by a friend.

He said it appeared that all she gained was airfares to New Zealand and basic hotel accommodation.

Bates suggested "naivety, a misguided sense of loyalty and ... recklessness" led to her involvement.

Judge Patricia Courtney accepted Le had no "significant gain" from the laundering and had acted "recklessly rather than deliberately".

"But by the time of the second trip, you must have been in no doubt that you were involved in criminal activity."

Le made two trips to New Zealand via Sydney in 2017 in June and August.

She met with associates allegedly linked to drug importation on four separate occasions in Auckland, receiving bags of cash in the amounts of $394,000, $298,000, $200,000, $398,000 - $1.29 million in total.

She also provided a bank account number in Vietnam and was involved in depositing the money.

Judge Courtney said Le used a "token" - a bank note she had been given with a specific serial number - to identify herself to other people involved in the laundering.

"This was part of a method used by drug dealers to ensure safe delivery or receipt of cash or drugs."

The judge said Le's role was a "cash collector" - "a position low in the hierarchy but still crucial".

Her offending "coincided with the importation of drugs by others in the wider [organised crime] group".

Judge Courtney said Le, who was arrested in Sydney and had been in custody for six months, would be imprisoned far from her family but that was the risk people took when they came to New Zealand to offend.

"Your family lives in Vietnam and prison will be harder for you than for most.

"I hope your family is able to visit you. Good luck."

Le will be deported to Vietnam upon her release from prison.