COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking in a dangerous drug in the Magistrates’ Court and he is committed to this court for sentence.
In the afternoon on 17 November 2021, the defendant was intercepted by police officers outside a self-storage warehouse. In a paper bag that the defendant was carrying, police officers found 16.3 grammes of cocaine and 8,690 tablets of alprazolam, a Part I poison. With a padlock key found on the defendant, police officers opened a storage unit inside the self-storage warehouse. They seized 3,297 grammes of cocaine and 890 tablets of alprazolam.
A body search of the defendant inside the police station yielded cash in the sum of HK$47,394 and Renminbi 769.
The defendant is 58, educated up to Form 5 level. Prior to his arrest, he was a salesman. He has three criminal conviction records involving eight offences, two convictions related to trafficking in a dangerous drug.
Mitigation letters have been produced by the defendant, the defendant’s daughter, and ex-wife. They asked for leniency understandably. However, my hands are tied by the guidelines set down by the Court of Appeal.
Given the circumstances of the defendant’s arrest and the seizure of the dangerous drug, the two counts of trafficking in dangerous drug could be, in my view, treated as one continuous offence.
In sentencing the defendant, the number of Part I poisons in this case will be ignored as it does not add anything meaningful to the overall sentence.
Guidelines on sentencing are clear. The starting point for trafficking in 3.3 kilogrammes of cocaine based on quantity alone will be one of 25 years and 3 months.
This, however, was not the first time that the defendant infringed the law. Opportunities have been given in the past on three occasions and it seems that those opportunities had not been treasured. Given the defendant’s past criminal record, the notional starting point will be increased to one of 26 years.
Without further evidence to the contrary, the defendant will be on this occasion treated as a courier.
The defendant, of course, will be given the usual one-third full discount for his earliest plea.
In conclusion, for the two offences, for the two counts of trafficking in a dangerous drug the defendant stands convicted, he is sentenced to 17 years and 4 months’ imprisonment concurrently.