At midnight on 13 March 2019, the defendant was intercepted by police officers at Sham Shui Po. 3.24 grammes of methamphetamine, ‘Ice’, was found on the defendant’s body. A further search of his rucksack found 29.4 grammes of methamphetamine, 3.20 grammes of cocaine and 3.95 grammes of ketamine. Under caution, the defendant claimed that the drugs were for his own consumption.
In a subsequent video-recorded interview, the defendant admitted that he was at the time delivering the methamphetamine, the ‘Ice’, in question.
The total value of all the dangerous drugs was estimated to be around HK$25,000.
The defendant admitted before the court that he possessed all the drugs seized from him for the purpose of trafficking.
The defendant is 42, a part-time transportation worker prior to his arrest. He has a criminal record relating to the possession of dangerous drug.
Guidelines on sentencing are clear as the starting point for trafficking in 32.64 grammes of ‘Ice’ is one of 8 years’ imprisonment. Had all the other dangerous drugs been converted into ‘Ice’, the starting point of all the dangerous drugs seized, in my view, would not make much of any difference. As such, the starting point in this case is fixed at 8 years’ imprisonment.
The defendant is entitled to the one-third discount for his earliest plea. Apart from that, I do not see any other mitigating circumstances which may render the reduction of the sentence further. As such, for the offence the defendant is standing convicted, he is sentenced to 64 months, that is 5 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.