COURT: The defendant pleaded guilty to trafficking 780 grammes of cocaine.
On 7 March 2015, the defendant arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport from Nairobi, Kenya. He was found to have concealed some foreign objects in his body after medical examination at North Lantau Hospital.
He admitted under caution that he had swallowed 77 pellets of cocaine while in Tanzania. He was promised a reward of US$5,000 after delivery of the dangerous drug. In the next few days he was put under observation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital and excreted the pellets.
The market price of this quantity of cocaine was about HK$1.3 million.
The defendant is 41 years old from Tanzania. He has a clear record in Hong Kong. He received education up to diploma level. He is a businessman earning about US$200 per month. He is married with four children. The youngest was born in April 2015.
He wrote to this court expressing great remorse and asked for leniency. According to defence counsel, Ms Crebbin, the defendant was in need of money for his family at that time. He was lured into drug trafficking by a person called “Ibrahim” in Tanzania. He was promised a loan of US$100,000 and a reward of US$5,000 after he successfully took the drug to Hong Kong. He also borrowed US$3,500 from a friend to buy some mobile phones for resale after this trip.
Counsel informed this court that the defendant participated actively in a campaign in prison. He wrote letters explaining his situation to people in Africa. He also had constant contact with a social worker from Tanzania who helped to spread his warning message to others. Some of these letters were posted on the internet by Father John who set up a website to combat trafficking in dangerous drugs in Africa.
Father John informed this court that his campaign had been a success: the number of traffickers from Africa arrested in Hong Kong had decreased substantially in last 12 months. I thank Father John for explaining the details of his programme to me in court.
The sentencing tariff in HKSAR v Abdallah is applicable. For the 780 grammes of cocaine, the starting point should be 21 years’ imprisonment. The cocaine was taken to Hong Kong, the starting point should be enhanced to reflect this aggravating factor.
Having considered the amount of cocaine, his background and the mitigation, I add 1 year to reflect this international element. The final starting point is 22 years’ imprisonment. I deduct 7 years and 4 months for his plea.
The defendant had offered to assist but the information he supplied was already known to the Customs and Excise Department. Nevertheless, I would still give him some discount. I would also give him some discount for his active role in Father John’s program. In view of these factors, I would give him an additional 1 year reduction.
While I appreciate the effort of the defendant in spreading a warning message, this court must balance public interests in sentencing. Trafficking in a dangerous drug is a very serious offence. This court must not be too lenient.
In conclusion, I sentence the defendant to 13 years and 8 months’ imprisonment.