COURT: The defendant was charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. It is alleged that he unlawfully trafficked in 9,424 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 8,280 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as ‘Ice’, at Room 1821, Choi Chu House, Choi Yuen Estate, in Sheung Shui, New Territories. He pleaded guilty at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts in August this year and was committed for sentence before me today.
The facts giving rise to the offence are these. At around
7.44 am on 11 April 2023, the defendant was seen walking out from the subject unit and was intercepted by two police officers. He was then brought back to the unit for inquiry by the police. No suspicious items were found on his body.
At about 7.54 am, a house search was conducted by the police officers in the presence of the defendant. A black suitcase locked with a padlock was found underneath a double bunk bed in the living room. The defendant told the police officers that the suitcase belonged to him.
The following items were found inside the suitcase: one blue recycle bag containing one plastic packet containing one plastic bag containing 934 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 934 grammes of narcotic ‘Ice’, one red recycle bag containing one plastic packet containing 946 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 746 grammes of ‘Ice’, one plastic packet containing one plastic bag containing 579 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 579 grammes of ‘Ice’, and one plastic packet containing one plastic bag containing 993 grammes of a solid which did not contain any controlled substance under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, and six plastic packets containing a total of 5,848 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 5,195 grammes of ‘Ice’. The total quantity of narcotics found in the suitcase was hence 7,454 grammes of ‘Ice’.
Apart from the suitcase containing drugs, the following items amongst others were found underneath the double bunk bed: one carton box containing one orange recycle bag containing a large quantity of plastic packets and one yellow recycle bag, one carton box containing a vacuum sealer and one plastic bag containing a pack of tissues.
The defendant was thus arrested for trafficking in dangerous drugs. Under caution, he told the police that the drugs inside the suitcase belonged to him and had nothing to do with his family.
Upon further search of the unit, a shoe box was found underneath the sink in the kitchen which was found to contain the following items:
(a) One plastic bag containing 943 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 652 grammes of ‘Ice’;
(b) two pieces of tissues wrapping one plastic bag containing 174 grammes of a crystalline solid containing 174 grammes of ‘Ice’; and
(c) miscellaneous packaging paraphernalia including two electronic scales, a plastic spoon, and three bags containing a large quantity of transparent resealable plastic bags.
The total quantity of narcotics found in the shoe box was 826 grammes of ‘Ice’.
The defendant was further arrested for trafficking in those dangerous drugs again. Under caution, he admitted that the drugs found inside the shoe box belonged to him and had nothing to do with his family.
The defendant made further admissions under caution in a subsequent video-recorded interview. In gist, he admitted that he was unemployed at the time and was asked by a person called Siu Ming to store the drugs in the unit, which were to be sold to customers as and when instructed by Siu Ming. He was promised monetary rewards by Siu Ming after the drugs were sold. He got acquainted with Siu Ming through another friend a few months before the offence. Siu Ming made contact with him and later passed him the suitcase containing all the drugs and the packaging paraphernalia seized which he took back to his premises.
Back in the unit, the defendant had taken out some of the drugs and packaging paraphernalia from the suitcase and placed them into the shoe box which he placed underneath the kitchen sink for easier access. He locked the suitcase containing the rest of the drugs and put it underneath the double bunk bed. He would use the electronic scales, the spoon, and the resealable plastic bags seized to weigh and pack the drugs himself. He had not yet made any delivery of drugs to any person and thus had not received any monetary reward at all.
The estimated total street value of the drugs seized from the unit was to the tune of HK$6.7 million.
The defendant now admits and accepts that he was knowingly in possession of all the ‘Ice’ seized in the case for the purpose of unlawful trafficking.
The Defendant’s Background
The defendant is now 46 years old. He was born in Hong Kong and had received education up to Form 1. His father is 86 years old and living apart from him. His mother had passed away. The defendant had divorced since 2005 and has a daughter aged 25 who was born out of wedlock.
Before the offence, he used to work as a construction worker in Hong Kong, earning about $5,500 to $10,000 a month. As he claimed in the video-recorded interview, he was unemployed at the time of the offence.
According to the antecedents, the defendant claims that he has a habit of smoking ‘Ice’ and marijuana, but it is confirmed in mitigation that there is no assertion that any part of the drugs seized was for his self-consumption.
The defendant has six previous convictions, the first one of which is drug related, namely possession of dangerous drugs in 1999 which is 25 years ago when the defendant was about 20 years of age. He has however no previous conviction for trafficking in dangerous drugs. The last time the defendant was sentenced to the drug addiction treatment centre was 28 December 2021 and he was released therefrom on 29 June 2022.
After his arrest for the present case in April 2023 and during his remand in custody, the defendant was sentenced for an outstanding case of conspiracy to launder money to 10 months’ imprisonment upon his own plea of guilty on 15 November 2023. I am informed that he has since finished that sentence of 10 months by February 2024.
Mitigation
Counsel for the defendant, Mr Ng, submits that the defendant was just a foot soldier and urges me to adopt the usual tariff and not to enhance the starting point on account of his role. It is also urged upon me to give the full one-third discount for the defendant’s early plea.
Sentence
The six-step approach in relation to sentencing drug trafficking offences has been set out in HKSAR v Herry Jane Yusuph, [2021] 1 HKLRD 290, as complemented by HKSAR v Lee Ming Ho [2024] HKCA 150, which I shall not repeat. Applying the six-step approach for trafficking in the quantity of ‘Ice’ involved in this case, namely 8,280 grammes, the applicable sentencing guideline band is that between 4,000 grammes to 15,000 grammes, which warrants a starting point of 26 to 30 years (see HKSAR v Tam Yi Chun [2014] 3 HKLRD 691 and HKSAR v Abdallah [2009] 2 HKLRD 437).
As regards the defendant’s role and culpability, on the facts as admitted of this case, I am prepared to accept Mr Ng’s submission that the defendant was a mere foot soldier tasked to store and package the drugs for delivery to customers in accordance with instructions given by Siu Ming and that no enhancement of the notional starting point is required.
According to what the defendant admitted under caution in the video-recorded interview, he was recruited by Siu Ming to store and package the drugs and that it was Siu Ming who would give instructions to him for delivery of drugs, albeit the defendant had not yet delivered any drugs to any person. The defendant further said that he had not received any monetary reward so far. In this regard, I note that no substantial amount of cash was seized from the unit and there was no other evidence suggesting that the defendant had been rewarded for the trafficking. On the facts as admitted, there is no suggestion that the defendant was a direct trafficker who had made any gain, let alone substantial gain at all.
Bearing in mind the circumstances of the offence and role of the defendant, and applying the usual tariffs applicable to trafficking in the quantity of ‘Ice’ in question, I would adopt a starting point of 27 years and 6 months.
I do not find the presence of any aggravating factors that warrant any enhancement of that starting point. The strongest and perhaps the only real mitigating factor is the fact that the defendant pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and for that I am prepared to give him the full one-third discount in accordance with the well-established sentencing approach set out in HKSAR v Ngo Van Nam. This will bring the sentence down to 18 years and 4 months which I consider fair, just, and balanced in all the circumstances of the offence and the offender. And this is the final sentence I would impose.
Mr Law, you are therefore sentenced to a term of 18 years and 4 months’ imprisonment.