COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 0.83 of a kilogramme of a solid containing 0.48 of a kilogramme of cocaine.
The facts are getting more and more common in Hong Kong. The defendant, a Colombian national, arrived in Hong Kong on a plane from Doha and, upon arriving at our airport, Customs & Excise officers found concealed in a false compartment in his luggage the dangerous drugs which is the subject matter of the indictment.
He was interviewed and the defendant claimed that he was working as a salesperson in Colombia earning US$ 1,000 a month and that he had borrowed money and the terms of the repayment were that he would need to bring the bag to Hong Kong and then he would not need to repay the US$ 5,000 he had borrowed.
The drugs were subsequently examined by a Government Chemist and found to contain a total of 480 grammes of cocaine.
According to Immigration Department records, before this time, the defendant had, on eight previous occasions, arrived in Hong Kong since September 2009. So the defendant is not new to Hong Kong. The drug seized in this case, if sold in Hong Kong, would carry an estimated retail value of HK$830,000.
The defendant has a clear record in Hong Kong. He is now aged 43 and has family in Colombia. He has been gainfully employed in Colombia and according to his counsel, the reason he had borrowed US$5,000 was to pay for his mother’s medical expenses. The defendant has written a mitigating letter claiming he is genuinely remorseful and that he would not re-offend.
As counsel has submitted, according to the guidelines in the case of Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR page 370, for trafficking of between 400 to 600 grammes of cocaine or heroin would carry a starting point of 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment. According to the case of Pedro Nel Rojas [1994], the Court of Appeal has laid down that sentencing for cocaine should be following the guidelines laid down for heroin in the case of Lau Tak Ming. Therefore, the 480 grammes of cocaine would merit a sentence of between 15 to 16 years’ imprisonment as a starting point.
As correctly identified by defence counsel, there is an aggravating feature in this case because this case carries an international element. The drugs were being imported into Hong Kong from abroad. That is an aggravating factor. I note that the defendant is not a first-time visitor to Hong Kong so he must know that, in Hong Kong, sentences are severe for drug trafficking. The courts have said time and time again that a cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong, it is very hard to control international travel and importing illegal substances into Hong Kong and so the courts do look with severity upon cases of this nature.
So taking into account the defendant has a clear record in Hong Kong, I will adopt a starting point of 15 years’ imprisonment. Because of the aggravating feature I have just mentioned, I will increase it by 1 year, to a starting point of 16 years’ imprisonment. Reducing that by one-third because of the defendant’s plea, the sentence would be reduced to one of 10 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.
So the defendant will go to prison for 10 years and 8 months.