COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug involving 8,956 grammes of cocaine.
At about 4.15 pm on 16 October 2021, the police entered a flat on 29th Floor on Block 6, Metro City Phase 1 in Tseung Kwan O. The defendant was found inside the bedroom.
The police conducted a search of the room, and seized, amongst other items, the following:
(i) six packets containing a total of 6,050 grammes of
a solid, in a form of a block, containing 4,891
grammes of cocaine;
(ii) one eco-friendly bag containing five packets
containing a total of 5,020 grammes of a solid, in
a form of a block, containing 4,065 grammes of
cocaine;
(iii) one pink bag containing one electronic scale;
(iv) one box of plastic bags; and
(v) two iPhones belonging to the defendant.
The defendant was then arrested. In a subsequent video-recorded interview, the defendant admitted that he occupied the room. An unknown person called him and asked him to collect the dangerous drugs. The defendant was unemployed at the time and had no money. The defendant did it for earning quick money.
The total amount of cocaine seized on the defendant’s person and in the room comes to a total of 8,956 grammes, and has a street value of $11,889,180.
Background and mitigation
The defendant was 21 years old at the date of the offence and is now 23 years old. The defendant was born in Shenzhen and raised in Hong Kong. The defendant has received education up to Form 3 in a secondary school in Wong Tai Sin. The defendant is not married. The defendant lives with his parents and a younger brother. The defendant’s father is a security guard and his mother is a housewife. His younger brother is a student. The defendant and his father were the breadwinners of the family.
Prior to the arrest, the defendant had worked as a courier in a logistics company. He was laid off in December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The defendant made HK$15,000 a month before being laid off.
It was submitted on the defendant’s behalf that the defendant was remorseful after the incident, and the defendant’s family had been very supportive of the defendant.
The defendant has four previous criminal records that are not related to dangerous drugs.
Consideration of sentence
The sentencing approach in trafficking cases is set out by the Court of Appeal in HKSAR v Herry Jane Yusuph [2021] 1 HKRLD 290 and HKSAR v Lee Ming Ho [2024] HKCA 150. I therefore follow the six-step sentencing approach set out in Yusuph.
The first step is to identify the relevant guideline band or bracket applicable to the quantity of drugs concerned. Applying the guidelines laid down in R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370 and HKSAR v Abdallah [2009] 2 HKRLD 437, the relevant sentencing band for trafficking cocaine of this quantity is between 26 to 30 years’ imprisonment.
For trafficking in a total of 8,956 grammes of cocaine, a mathematically calculated place within the relevant sentencing band would be 27 years and 9 months’ imprisonment, after rounding down.
On the evidence, there is nothing to suggest that the defendant had any further role beyond the culpability of an ordinary courier. I, therefore, assess his culpability on that basis. I do not see any basis for departing from the mathematically calculated starting point, and that is the starting point I will adopt.
The only mitigating factor in this case is the defendant’s guilty plea. He is entitled to a one-third discount off the starting point which brings the sentence down to 18 years and 6 months’ imprisonment, after rounding down.
Defendant, I sentence you to a total of 18 years and 6 months’ imprisonment.