A woman who tried to bring more than $5 million worth of fentanyl to Vancouver Island on the ferry has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
On May 3, 2019, Hong Dinh was busted on the way to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, with a kilogram of fentanyl in a cloth bag. Police observed her picking it up from a contact in Langley, arresting her afterwards.
In his written decision Justice Gordon Weatherill had strong words for Dinh. He says “drug trafficking is a scourge on our society, rooted in greed on the part of those who perpetrate it.”
The value of the seized fentanyl was between $5 and $9 million, and could have made up to 600,000 doses.
“There is no doubt in my mind that Ms. Dinh either knew, was willfully blind to, or recklessly disregarded the obvious: she was engaged in the trafficking of illegal drugs,” Weatherill said. “Regardless, willful blindness as to the nature or quantity of the drug cannot mitigate moral blameworthiness.”
The judge said because of the sheer volume of drugs involved, the sentence needs to send a strong message.
“Deterrence and denunciation must feature prominently in such cases in light of the serious, unabated public health crisis caused by the street sale of drugs containing fentanyl,” he said.
