HKSAR v. HOLGUIN GARCIA KATHERINE

HCCC 208/2016

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 208 OF 2016

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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case

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COURT:

Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a charge of trafficking in dangerous drugs, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. You have admitted that on 8 August 2015, at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hong Kong, at 50 Nathan Road, Kowloon, you unlawfully trafficked in 1,652 grammes of a powder containing 1,178 grammes of cocaine.

On that day, 8 August, at about 7 pm, a Colombian female, namely Ms Orozco Ortiz Claudia Patricia, I shall call her Patricia, arrived in Hong Kong from Bogota, Colombia. She was selected by a customs officer for a personal search at the customs clearances of the green channel, Arrival Hall A, at the Hong Kong International Airport. Before a search of her body, she admitted she was carrying drugs and pointed to her hips. Later, three packets of drugs, the amount as contained in this charge were found hidden inside secret pockets sewn inside her tight shorts worn by Ms Patricia.

The estimated retail value of those drugs is $1,689,996.

Patricia had told the custom officers that she was going to the Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui with the drugs as someone would be waiting for her there. Thereafter, Patricia agreed to participate in a controlled delivery to the Holiday Inn with the customs officers. The drugs that were concealed in Patricia’s tight shorts were removed and placed inside a suitcase. This suitcase and Ms Orozco together with customs officers then went to the Holiday Inn lobby.

Upon arrival, she texted a man called Juan Thomas to inform him of her arrival there. At about 11 pm, you approached Patricia at the lobby of the Holiday Inn. During the conservation with you, Patricia pointed to the suitcase and said she had removed the dangerous drugs because they were heavy and the drugs were now in the suitcase. You then took the suitcase and walked with the suitcase towards the exit of the Holiday Inn. Before you left the hotel, you were intercepted by customs officers.

You were cautioned and arrested together with Patricia. On the following day, a video-recorded interview under caution was conducted with you and you admitted that a man known as Gordo or Gordis or Jorge or Gordis Two, had asked you to pick up Patricia at the Holiday Inn. Through your plea of guilty, you admit you were in possession of the suitcase and knew that the suitcase contained the drugs as stated in the charge.

You are Colombian, aged 32. You have a clear criminal record in Hong Kong and your counsel, Mr McGuinniety, tells me also in Colombia. You have attained and completed secondary school education and in Colombia, you have three children aged 7, 14 and 16. Your husband is looking after your middle child whilst your great grandmother looks after your other two children. You have a fiancée who is Turkish.

Mr McGuinniety has given me some background about yourself. He has informed me that when you were in Colombia, you were assisting your father’s business which was a health spa business of which you and your brother ran or assisted in running. Prior to coming to Hong Kong, you were in Guangdong China for your own personal business interests such as shipping or buying clothes and sent them back to Colombia. Although the father of your children in Colombia is still your husband, you are not husband and wife or living as husband and wife and you had come to Hong Kong to sort out some custody matters or in relation to your children at the Colombian Consulate.

Whilst here, Mr McGuinniety told me that you met a man referred to in the Summary of Facts as Gordo and it was this man who had led you into the commission of this offence. It is clear, Mr McGuinniety said, that this man Gordo had in fact been waiting for Patricia to arrive from Colombia but believing that something had happened or that she took so long, he in fact did not pick up Patricia from the Holiday Inn and sent you to collect her at the Holiday Inn. You had obviously gone to collect her knowing that there were drugs inside her suitcase. Quite correctly, Mr McGuinniety has said that the most powerful mitigation on your behalf and strongest mitigating factor is your plea of guilty and for that, you will be afforded a one-third discount. In this case, Mr McGuinniety points out that you were just a courier sent by Gordo to collect Patricia and the drugs and that is the role that you have played.

As Mr McGuinniety has advised you, this offence is very serious. You were trafficking in a very, very large amount of drugs. The leading case is that of Abdallah Anwar Abbas and I shall sentence you on the basis of that case.

Defendant, you were trafficking in 1,178 grammes of cocaine. This does fall within the first bracket of Abdallah. That is people found trafficking in amounts between 600 and 1,200 grammes of cocaine, an appropriate starting point after trial would be one of 20 to 23 years’ imprisonment. In the amount you have trafficked in, had you been convicted after trial, I consider a starting point of 22 years and 9 months’ imprisonment to be appropriate. Giving you full credit for your plea of guilty and giving you a one-third discount from that term, you shall be sentenced to 15 years and 2 months’ imprisonment.