COURT: The two defendants pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs. They are jointly charged of trafficking a total of 1,417 grammes of a solid containing 1,174 grammes of cocaine.
The defendants were stopped at the Hong Kong International Airport and upon X-ray examination, objects suspected to be drugs were revealed inside the defendants’ body cavities. They were transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for detention and subsequently, the 1st defendant discharged 129 packets containing 655 grammes of a solid containing 545 grammes of cocaine. And the 2nd defendant discharged 153 packets containing 762 grammes of a solid containing 629 grammes of cocaine.
Messages in the defendants’ mobile phone revealed that the crime was organised and supervised by a person known as Irmola Ola.
The total estimated street value of the cocaine seized was HK$1,419,834.
The 1st defendant is 35 years old. He was born in Mongolia. After his parents have divorced in 1997, his elder sister and him lived with their grandmother and earning their own living for about three years. After completing his secondary education, the 1st defendant started to work as an emergency driver at the general hospital of his province for a few years. He is married with three children, one daughter and two sons, aged 14 years old, 8 years old and 6 years old respectively.
In mitigation, Mr Davis, counsel for the 1st defendant, submitted that at the material time, the 1st defendant was under financial distress and he is the main breadwinner of the family. And his salary was insufficient to support the family of five. And he took two loans from the bank and also from non-banking institution.
The 1st defendant got acquainted with Irmola Ola since childhood. He committed the offence based on the instruction of Irmola Ola. He acted as a courier in the scheme and he acted in accordance with the text messages from Irmola Ola.
The 2nd defendant was born in 1978 in Mongolia. She got married in 1999 and has three children who are now 23, 22 and 18. Her husband passed away in 2006. In 2010, she had another partner with whom she had two more children, aged 13 and 10. However, they separated in 2014. The 2nd defendant then became a single mother and worked in an optical shop to support her children. And her children are now being taken care of by her mother who is 65 years old.
Moreover, on 31 July 2023, the 2nd defendant’s youngest sister and her family were involved in a serious car accident. Her sister’s husband and two children died in that accident and her sister was seriously injured. The hospital in Mongolia could not provide sufficient medical treatment to her sister and the family looked for alternative treatments from other countries and received an offer from a hospital in China which required large sums of money. And because of that, one of the defendant’s younger brother sold his house to contribute to the medical expenses.
And at that time, Irmola Ola, who was an acquaintance to the 2nd defendant, learned about the 2nd defendant’s situation and offered US$5,000, on condition that she goes to Brazil to bring drugs from Brazil to Hong Kong. She promised the 2nd defendant that she would receive the sum
in cash after delivering the drugs in Hong Kong. The 2nd defendant accepted that and she wanted to contribute the sum to cover some of the medical expenses of her sister.
Ms Alva, counsel for the 2nd defendant, in mitigation submitted that the 2nd defendant is now very remorseful and she regrets having made such a decision. It is later on, unfortunately, known by the 2nd defendant that the medical treatment provided to her sister was not positive and eventually her sister passed away on 10 February 2025.
In considering the appropriate sentence for trafficking in cocaine, this court should make reference to the judgments of the Court of Appeal in HKSAR v Herry Jane Yusuph [2021] 1 HKRLD 290 and adopt the six-steps approach set out therein.
The sentencing tariff for trafficking in cocaine is set out in HKSAR v Huang Ruifang [2025] 2 HKRLD 138. The quantities of cocaine involved in the charge is 1,174 grammes. Under Huang Ruifang, the starting point for trafficking in cocaine for 500 to 1,500 grammes should be 16 to 20 years’ imprisonment.
In arithmetic calculation, the starting point for the quantity of 1,174 grammes as submitted by Ms Alva should be 18 years, 8 months. As the defendants are jointly charged and considered to be acting jointly in this crime, the overall quantity, instead of individual quantity found in their body, should be used for considering the starting point for sentence.
There is an international element in this matter. It is not a separate aggravating factor on its own, but in considering the roles of the defendants, I shall take this factor into account.
For the 1st defendant, I am of the view that he is not a courier at the lowest level. This crime was committed out of a design scheme where the defendants swallowing large amount of drugs, taking drugs from overseas to Hong Kong. Throughout the journey, the 1st defendant also maintained a lot of communications with the mastermind, Irmola Ola.
Taking these factors into account, I would adopt a starting point of 19 years and 3 months’ imprisonment for the 1st defendant. For the 2nd defendant, her role is slightly less than the 1st defendant, and I would therefore adopt a starting point of 19 years’ imprisonment.
Taking into account their guilty plea, the sentence is reduced to 154 months for the 1st defendant and 152 months for the 2nd defendant. However, I accept counsel’s submission that both defendants have been very cooperative on the authorities’ investigation since their arrest. And for this, I shall give them a further reduction of 6 months’ imprisonment.
To conclude, for the 1st defendant, he is sentenced to 12 years and 4 months’ imprisonment, and for the 2nd defendant, she is sentenced to 12 years and 2 months’ imprisonment.