COURT: The jury, by their unanimous verdict, convicted the defendant of trafficking 2.26 kilogrammes of cocaine.
The defendant committed the offence on 2 January 2020 when he brought the dangerous drug hidden in a checked in luggage, that is a red suitcase wrapped in blue plastic wrappings to Hong Kong from Guinea.
He was stopped by the customs officers at the “Nothing to Declare” channel. Upon examination, the cocaine in question was found in a concealed compartment of the suitcase.
The evidence revealed that the defendant was recruited by a person, Kelly, to work as a courier to bring the dangerous drug to Hong Kong from Guinea for a reward of RMB 5,000.
The total street value of the quantity of cocaine in this case was over HK$3.35 million.
The defendant is aged 58. He is a mainlander. He worked as a welder earning 4,000 to RMB 5,000 per month if work was available. He is single according to his VRI. In his evidence in court, he said he is a divorcee with two sons aged 18 and 16.
In sentencing the defendant, I follow the six-step approach in the case HKSAR v Herry Jane Yusuph, CACC 93/2019; [2020] HKCA 974, read in conjunction with the recent authority HKSAR v Lee Ming Ho, CACC 130/2019. In Lee Ming Ho, the Court of Appeal held that the six-step approach in Herry Jane Yusuph should be read in conjunction with what the Court of Appeal said in Lee Ming Ho.
Following the judgment of Lee Ming Ho, the international element in the present case should be regarded as a matter going to the role and culpability of the defendant when identifying the starting point, rather than as a separate and additional aggravating feature.
The relevant sentencing band for trafficking in 2.26 kilogrammes of cocaine is “between 1,200 to 4,000 grammes, 23 to 26 years”, according to the case AG v Rojas [1994] 1 HKC 342, HKSAR v Lau Tak Ming and Others [1990] 2 HKLR 370, and HKSAR v Abdallah Anwar Abbas [2009] 2 HKLRD 437; [2009] 2 HKC 197.
The role of the defendant was that of a courier. Given the role and culpability of the defendant, as shown by the quantity of the cocaine involved and given the fact that there was an international element, that is the defendant imported dangerous drugs into Hong Kong from Guinea, a starting point of 25 years’ imprisonment is appropriate.
As the international element has been considered under the role and culpability of the defendant, there is no aggravating factor. I am prepared to give the defendant 6 months reduction for his clear record.
Standing back and looking at the overall sentence, in my judgment a sentence of 24½ years’ imprisonment is a fair, just, and balanced sentence.
For these reasons, I sentence the defendant to 24½ years’ imprisonment.