COURT: Defendant, you have pleaded guilty to a single charge of trafficking in 0.90 of a kilogramme of a powder containing 0.75 of a kilogramme of cocaine, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Chapter 134, Laws of Hong Kong.
The Summary of Facts, which you have agreed, establishes, quite simply, that you were intercepted by Customs & Excise officers while walking through the ‘green channel’ at Hong Kong International Airport. Your rucksack was X-rayed and subsequent to your arrest, Customs officers cut this rucksack open and found two bags of packets containing the drugs being the subject matter of the charge.
You were paid a total sum of US$9,000 to deliver the contents of this bag to somebody in Hong Kong and the drugs, I am told, have a retail value of some HK$900,000.
Prior to your arrival in Hong Kong in June of last year, you had, I am told, a lengthy relationship with a lady in Pereira, Colombia, where you come from and were responsible financially for her and a total of five children. Like so many others from your part of the world, you brought these drugs into Hong Kong in the hope of easing your financial burden and making quick money.
Whilst there clearly is an aggravating feature in the sense that you brought these drugs into Hong Kong from abroad for distribution here, I have been asked not to take this into account due to the fact that the first of a series of articles in a local newspaper in Pereira brought to the attention of the local population there the dangers of drug trafficking and the consequences that would likely follow. Your personal plight is reported in this article.
In my judgment, this is not a matter that goes to mitigate your involvement in this enterprise. The dangers of drug trafficking are surely all too well known worldwide and I have no doubt whatsoever that you will have been perfectly well aware of the consequences that would occur in the event of you being caught.
The guidelines for trafficking in cocaine can be found in HKSAR v Abdallah Anwar Abbas Court of Appeal No 304/2008. For quantities between 600 to 1,200 grammes, the starting point in terms of sentence after trial ranges between 20 to 23 years’ imprisonment.
In this case, the court is dealing with 0.75 of a kilo of cocaine and I take as my starting point a sentence of 20 years and 6 months’ imprisonment. Due to the aggravating feature that I have mentioned, I will enhance this sentence by 6 months, coming to 21 years’ imprisonment.
Due to your plea of guilty, I will discount this sentence by one-third, coming to a sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment.