CRIMINAL CASE NO. 296 OF 2011
COURT: The defendant pleads guilty to one charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134.
He was about to open the door to a flat for which the police had obtained a warrant to search. A number of plastic bags containing drugs were found inside the flat, together with drug packaging paraphernalia such as electronic scales, plastic spoons and many resealable plastic bags.
He admitted that he collected the drugs for others and would wait for instructions to deliver them. He was promised a daily wage of $1,000.
The market retail value of the drugs seized was in the region of $18,000.
Upon analysis the mixture was found to be a total of 161.13 grammes of a powder containing 136.58 grammes of ketamine.
The defendant is now aged 19. He has got two previous convictions of possession of dangerous drugs back in 2008. For the first one he was given 12 months probation but committing the second offence he was in breach of that probation order and he was eventually sentenced to a rehabilitation centre.
Counsel told me that he committed the present offence in order to earn quick money to provide maintenance for his 2 year old son.
Counsel urges me to take into consideration that he had fully cooperated with the police and pleaded guilty and to exercise leniency.
In sentencing the defendant I have taken into account the nature of the offence, the drugs involved, its quantity and the sentencing tariff. I have also taken into account his plea and mitigation forwarded by counsel. I have also perused contents of a letter written by him and the pastor.
For trafficking in ketamine weighing between 50 to 300 grammes the Court of Appeal has laid down a tariff of 6 to 9 years.
For the present amount of narcotics in this case I adopt a starting point of 7 years’ imprisonment. I shall give him the full one-third discount for his guilty plea.
He is sentenced to 56 months’ imprisonment. That is 4 years and 8 months.