A SYDNEY pair accused of being upper-level suppliers in the Tamworth 'ice castle' ring have pleaded guilty to commercial ice dealing.
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Phu Van Lam remains bail refused at Kempsey Correctional Centre, while Suri Samantha Phoumindr is being held in custody at Mary Wade Correctional Centre.
The pair both appeared via video link in Tamworth Local Court where they admitted to their involvement in the ice castle sting, exposed by Oxley detectives in 2019.
A solicitor from Sydney appeared via video link in court to represent the pair, and confirmed Lam has admitted to supplying 482.9g of methylamphetamine.
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"I have instructions to commit the matter for sentence," the solicitor told the court.
"The quantity of the drug is agreed, however, the details or the particulars of the facts are not."
The pair both pleaded guilty to charges of supplying more than a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine; while a charge of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime was referred to the district court to be taken into account in sentencing.
Charges of large commercial supply - which carries a maximum of life imprisonment; as well supplying an indictable quantity; and participating in a criminal group against the pair were withdrawn in court by prosecutors.
The solicitor said Phoumindr's facts were still in the draft form, and had not been finalised between the Crown and defence.
"The quantity of the drugs supplied is agreed," she told the court.
Magistrate Julie Soars committed the pair for sentence to Tamworth District Court with a date to be fixed later this year.
Neither made any bid for bail and it was formally denied by Ms Soars.
In a separate matter, Van Lam admitted to a separate set of charges which was also committed for sentence to the district court on the same date.
Van Lam has been in custody since July last year when he handed himself into Fairfield police. He had been on the run after Oxley police issued a warrant for his arrest for his involvement.
Phoumindr was arrested in Sydney by Strike Force Radius police in June 2019 and has been bail refused since.
More than 30 people were charged as part of Strike Force Radius in 2019. The secret police sting was set-up by Oxley detectives to expose the Tamworth 'ice castle' which involved supplies centred around a housing commission unit in Petra Avenue, nicknamed the 'ice castle' by some of the accused.
Several co-accused remain before the court.