Two Griffith men have been jailed for their roles in a crime gang’s plans to grow a multimillion-dollar cannabis crop north of Young.
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Pasquali (Ching) Sergi, 50, and Saverio (Sam) Ciampa, 52, were each jailed for one year and seven months, with a non-parole period of 10 months, by magistrate Peter Dare SC in Young Local Court on Tuesday after earlier pleading guilty to participating in a criminal group.
The offences were committed over about a 12 month period from January 1, 2013 to February 2014.
In his sentencing remarks, Mr Dare said the pair and others were involved in an audacious venture to grow cannabis on a Crowther property.
Their initial plan was to make up to $6 million by selling cannabis to undercover police.
“The property was not planned to be a one-off venture but to provide an all-year-round cultivation and supply of cannabis grown by outdoor and by enhanced (hydroponic) means so as to be able to continually supply large commercial quantities of cannabis,” Mr Dare said.
Sergi and Ciampa were arrested last year by police attached to Strike Force Oceanic.
A number of co-offenders have been sentenced to jail while others are still before the court.
Ciampa’s solicitor Stephen Stanton told the court his client, a citrus farmer, was a hard working man and said it was sad to see him involved in such activity.
“But nevertheless, [it’s] the reality,” he said.
“It’s come at a time in his life where he should have known better and he’s realised the consequences of that.”
Mr Stanton said his client entered a plea of guilty at the first available opportunity.
“Well not quite,” Mr Dare responded.
“The matters were first before the court in November 2014 when pleas of not guilty were entered. The pleas of guilty were not entered until June 2015,” he later said.
Mr Dare said Ciampa brought to the criminal group what might be termed ‘expertise in cultivating cannabis’.
“He was overheard on listening devices detailing to Luigi Fato about his experience in successfully cultivating a cannabis plantation at an elevated location,” Mr Dare said.
But he also noted that Ciampa has never been charged with cultivating cannabis.
Mr Dare said Ciampa travelled to Bali and stayed at a villa owned by Fato.
“It is asserted that this villa was regularly visited by Fato and other members of the criminal group as a place where they could talk freely about their activities without fear of electronic surveillance,” Mr Dare said.
In his remarks, Mr Dare said Sergi had promised to provide cannabis seed to Luigi Gino Fato, director of the syndicate, and sourcing the farm in Crowther for the cultivation.
A police telephone tape recorded Sergi as saying to Fato on August 4, 2013: “I can get seed. This is what we do, we get the seed, it comes in eight weeks … it’s female seed”.
Numerous discussions were recorded of Sergi saying the seeds were the “real thing” and how much money they would make.
Mr Dare sentenced the pair to two years’ jail but at a discount of 20 per cent.
“The offenders are mature men who appear before the court as persons of prior good character,” he said.
“It is submitted that neither offender is likely to reoffend – their prior history is indicative of that. I agree that special circumstances apply to each offender.”
When police raided the Crowther property in February last year they discovered 2750 cannabis plants, with an estimated value of $5.5 million.
Evidence of the syndicate was gathered by listening devices, telephone intercepts, surveillance and undercover police.
