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District Court 22 October 2025

R v Nguyen; R v Leckloksavang

[2025] NSWDC 544

DrugsFirearms & weapons
CRIME SENTENCE SUPPLY LARGE COMMERCIAL QUANTITY HEROIN POSSESS GEL BLASTER

Citation: R v Nguyen; R v Leckloksavang [2025] NSWDC 544
Court: District Court of New South Wales
Date: 22 October 2025
Judge: Bourke SC DCJ

Background

Two offenders, referred to here as the first offender and the second offender, were sentenced following guilty pleas to a series of serious drug supply offences arising from a joint NSW Police and NSW Crime Commission investigation. The investigation ran from approximately April to November 2023 and involved a controlled operation in which an undercover operative communicated with a drug network via the encrypted messaging application Threema.

The first offender (Leckloksavang) was implicated in multiple physical drug exchanges, including personally delivering pseudoephedrine to arranged locations and collecting cash payments. The second offender (Nguyen) was a participant in relevant group chats and was implicated in supplying very large quantities of pseudoephedrine. Both offenders were arrested in November 2023.

The factual basis for each offender was set out in separate agreed statements of facts. The sentencing judge noted that the differences between those two documents made the exercise difficult and time-consuming, and observed that a Crown summary identifying relevant distinctions between co-offenders would assist courts in future.

  • The appropriate sentences for multiple serious drug supply offences under the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985, including offences carrying maximum penalties of life imprisonment
  • The weight to be given to the 25 percent utilitarian discount for early guilty pleas
  • The degree of notional accumulation required across indicative terms, given offences committed on different dates
  • Whether special circumstances existed, justifying a departure from the standard non-parole period ratio
  • How to treat additional offences listed on Form 1 documents (that is, offences taken into account on sentence but not separately punished)

Decision

Bourke SC DCJ applied a 25 percent discount to each offender's sentences, reflecting the utilitarian value of pleas entered at the earliest opportunity. The judge considered the maximum penalties and standard non-parole periods as important sentencing guides, and factored in the Form 1 matters for each relevant sequence.

For the first offender, the four substantive offences spanned two separate dates: the sequence 2 supply on 15 June 2023 and the remaining offences on 14 November 2023. The judge determined that a moderate degree of notional accumulation among the indicative terms was appropriate, sufficient to acknowledge the separate criminal acts without creating an appearance of discounting for multiple offending.

A finding of special circumstances was made in each case, with the same reasoning applied to both offenders. The judge imposed aggregate sentences rather than individually cumulative terms.

Orders Made

First offender (Leckloksavang):
- Aggregate head sentence of 5 years 10 months, commencing 14 November 2023 and expiring 13 September 2029
- Non-parole period of 3 years 4 months, expiring 13 March 2027

Second offender (Nguyen):
- Aggregate head sentence of 5 years 6 months, commencing 14 November 2023 and expiring 13 May 2029
- Non-parole period of 3 years 2 months, expiring 13 January 2027

Indicative terms (after 25% discount) included:

First offender:
- Sequence 2 (large commercial quantity pseudoephedrine): 4 years 8 months (NPP 2 years 8 months)
- Sequence 7 (gel blasters/prohibited firearm): 15 months
- Sequence 13 (commercial quantity pseudoephedrine, 4002.4g): 3 years 7 months (NPP 2 years)
- Sequence 14 (large commercial quantity heroin, 1181.1g): 4 years 1 month (NPP 2 years 3 months)

Second offender:
- Sequence 1 (large commercial quantity pseudoephedrine, 5.994kg): 4 years 8 months (NPP 2 years 8 months)
- Sequence 2 (large commercial quantity pseudoephedrine, 9998.4g): 4 years 7 months (NPP 2 years 7 months)

Key Takeaways

  • The District Court imposed aggregate sentences of approximately 5.5 to 6 years for large-scale pseudoephedrine and heroin supply, after applying a 25 percent guilty plea discount and finding special circumstances in each case.
  • A 25 percent utilitarian discount applied where both offenders pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, consistent with the principles under the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999.
  • Where co-offenders negotiate separate agreed statements of facts, the resulting differences can materially complicate the sentencing exercise; the court observed that a Crown-prepared comparative summary would assist in such situations.
  • Notional accumulation across indicative terms was treated as necessary to reflect distinct criminal acts, but was kept at a moderate level to avoid any appearance that multiple offending attracted a sentencing discount.
  • Possession of gel ball air guns constituted possession of an unauthorised prohibited firearm under s 7(1) of the Firearms Act 1996, attracting an indicative term of 15 months in the circumstances of this case.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), particularly s 25(2)
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)
- Firearms Act 1996 (NSW), s 7(1)

Cases cited: No cases were cited in the text provided.