Canadian marijuana broker pleads; supplied major Philly dealer

A Canadian drug broker, who supplied "massive" amounts of marijuana on consignment to a Philadelphia-based trafficker, pleaded guilty today to drug and money laundering charges.

The broker, Dung Ngoc Nguyen, 53, may never have been caught if it hadn't been for a domestic dispute between the trafficker, John Q. Le, and his girlfriend.

According to court documents, Nguyen took orders for marijuana from her home in Ontario from Le, who lived in West Chester and reputedly ran one of the largest drug distribution operations on the East Coast.

Nguyen employed Native American couriers, who could cross the Canadian border with impunity through the Akwesasne Reservation. Each courier could carry up to 150 pounds of marijuana to be delivered to Le's Chester County home. In 2005 and 2006, Nguyen's couriers smuggled nearly 1,000 kilos of weed to Le, according to the court documents.

In the summer of 2006, federal investigators caught wind of two drug operations working from the Philadelphia area.

Le was married but also had a girlfriend. Angry at Le for not leaving his wife, the girlfriend took $190,000 of Le's drug money, drove to Atlantic City, and lost it all gaming in the casinos.

About $100,000 of the blown money had been intended to go back to Canada. Le was in a bind. He already owed a small fortune to Nguyen. He sent what money he had. It wasn't enough.

In a series of calls, monitored by federal agents, the supply line began to unravel.

Nguyen called Le when she received the cash he had sent to her from the last shipment of marijuana.

"It's short," Nguyen said. "What do you have to say? Uncle (her boss) says it's a large shortage...."

Le first tried to blame someone else, "I was looking for the other guy. He's in a lot of trouble. You understand?"

Nguyen didn't buy his excuses. But Le continued to insist that one of his customers had been arrested and couldn't pay him. Nguyen agreed to keep delivering, but jacked up the price and sent lesser quality marijuana, according to court documents.

In November 2006, Nguyen sent 140 pounds of marijuana to Le and the girlfriend, who met the courier in Atlantic City at the Resorts Casino. Le gave the courier about $295,420, the indictment said.

The feds were watching the courier and stopped him before he could cross the Canadian border in Watertown, New York.

When Le was arrested, he owed $500,000 to Nguyen. What happened next is not clear. Both Le and the girlfriend pleaded guilty in 2007 to various felony drug counts and money laundering. A U.S. District Judge sentenced Le to 66 months in prison. The girlfriend received two years.

Nguyen was charged in a federal indictment in 2009 with conspiracy to import more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana and money laundering and later extradicted from Canada.