In a case that has drawn widespread public attention, a 34-year-old mother of three in South Australia has pleaded guilty to theft-related charges after police uncovered a massive cache of stolen Lego estimated by prosecutors to be worth as much as $320,000, and is now begging the court to spare her a jail term for the sake of her children.
The incident unfolded on March 31 this year, when officers from South Australia Police executed a search warrant at Dai Truong’s former home in Dudley Park. What they found exceeded expectations: countless boxes of unopened Lego, all hidden away in a garden shed on the property. The sheer volume of the stolen goods was so large that law enforcement needed 15 pallets and two large horse trailers to transport the entire stash out of the residence.
On Tuesday, Truong appeared before the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court, where she entered guilty pleas to four charges brought against her: three counts of handling property without the owner’s consent and one count of unlawful possession. Court documents detail three proven instances of direct theft by Truong from a Kmart store located at the Marion Shopping Centre between September and November last year. Each time, Truong visited the store pushing a pram holding one of her young children. CCTV footage from the store captured her hiding boxes of Lego in the lower storage compartment of the pram, covering the stolen items with a blanket, and exiting the store without completing payment.
The first recorded theft took place on September 11, when Truong stole four Lego boxes valued at a total of $600. Four days later, she returned to the same location and stole another four boxes worth $300. On November 7, she struck again, this time taking eight boxes with a combined value of $874. Prosecutors noted that these confirmed thefts only account for a small fraction of the total stash found at Truong’s home. The entire collection of Lego, all in unopened, brand-new condition, matches descriptions of Lego reported stolen in other open cases across the region, leading prosecutors to value the entire haul at roughly $320,000. Truong disputes this valuation, arguing the total worth of the collection is closer to $200,000.
Truong’s legal defense team has made an impassioned plea to Magistrate Aaron Almeida to avoid imposing a custodial sentence, laying out the far-reaching consequences a jail term would have for the defendant and her family. The court heard that Truong is a Vietnamese national who relocated to Australia on a partner visa in 2017, and is the primary caregiver for three children aged 4, 7, and 10. Two of her three children have been diagnosed with autism and require specialized, consistent parental care that would be impossible to provide if Truong is jailed. Under Australia’s Migration Act, any prison sentence of 12 months or longer would result in the automatic revocation of Truong’s visa, which would lead to her deportation back to Vietnam. The defense argues this outcome would be catastrophic for the children, all of whom have grown up in Australia.
When asked by Magistrate Almeida to explain what led Truong to commit the offenses, her solicitor described the offending as a series of escalating bad decisions. “It started as a stupid decision,” he told the court. Truong noticed how popular Lego was at children’s birthday parties, and began stealing sets before the operation eventually grew into an enterprise for financial gain. The defense added that Truong has expressed full remorse for her actions and accepted complete responsibility for her crimes. In a statement relayed to the court, she promised never to offend again, saying “I acknowledge what I did was wrong and accept full responsibility for my actions. I promise I will not reoffend in the future and still have responsibility to care for my family.”
After the conclusion of this week’s hearing, Truong left the courthouse with her identity concealed by a hooded coat, face mask and sunglasses. A separate unlawful possession charge laid against Thanh Van Ta, a 42-year-old man who shared Truong’s former address, has been withdrawn by prosecutors. Truong, who currently resides in Devon Park, will return to court next week for her final sentencing.