Syndicate boss "Mum" Cuong Thi Le, 50, received a maximum term of 12 1/2 years' jail with a minimum of 10 for trafficking

Syndicate boss "Mum" Cuong Thi Le, 50, received a maximum term of 12 1/2 years' jail with a minimum of 10 for trafficking almost 2.08kg of heroin between March and June, 2005. Hao Van Nguyen, 81, received a maximum eight-year sentence with a 4 1/2-year minimum for trafficking a large commercial quantity. Three other female traffickers -- My Cao, 40, Thi Truong, 55, and Nhung Ta, 33 - received sentences ranging from 3 1/2 to two years. All except Ta had pleaded not guilty. Le's son, Dung Le, had previously received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty. In the County Court last week Judge Geoff Chettle described Cuong Le as the principal of a "sophisticated drug empire". After Le's arrest in July 2005 police told an out-of-sessions court hearing she had turned over about $2 million through transactions at Crown that year. Le was subsequently added to a list of 32 Victorians banned for life from the casino. During raids on Le's gang, detectives found about $1 million worth of street-grade heroin and $50,000 in cash and casino chips. As part of her plea before being sentenced, Le claimed a gambling addiction led to her drug-trafficking exploits. Police had listened in on phone calls between gang members, who used codes during conversations to try to hide their activities.

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Seven members of the Vancouver-based Red Scorpions gang are facing multiple drug trafficking charges in Victoria.

The Red Scorpions are a multi-ethnic gang known for its lack of mercy. The gang has been mentioned in connection with the death of six men in a Surrey apartment last October. Two of the people killed were uninvolved with crime (Ed Schellenberg and Chris Mohan).
Seven members of the Vancouver-based Red Scorpions gang are facing multiple drug trafficking charges in Victoria. Victoria Police say the bust of a dial-a-dope scheme was designed to keep the notorious Vancouver gang from moving into the provincial capital. Victoria Police Sergeant Grant Hamilton says they started an undercover operation focused on the Red Scorpions when they heard local drug dealers were being threatened by a gang from Vancouver. "We felt we had to do that, because we believe there was a significant risk to public safety due to their willingness to use violence and intimidation to further their criminal behaviour."Sergeant Hamilton says several of those arrested had loaded weapons nearby. Police say five of the suspects are under arrest and warrants have been issued for the other two, who have yet to be found. Some of the suspects were arrested after a raid carried out on a home in Saanich. The names of the suspects have not been released.

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