CRIMINAL CASE NO. 84 OF 2010
COURT: The defendant pleads guilty to two charges of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134.
He was intercepted by Police officers whilst leaving a flat. He was found to be in possession of 42 re-sealable plastic bags. Drugs were found inside those bags. A further search in a bedroom of the flat revealed another 32 packets of drugs inside a safe.
Other paraphernalia relating to packaging of drugs, such as transparent plastic bags, electronic scale, heat sealing machine, surveillance camera were also found.
Under caution the defendant remained silent.
Upon analysis the drugs on his person were found to be 28.53 grammes of a powder containing 15.91 grammes of cocaine, whilst those inside the flat were a total of 768.64 grammes of a powder containing 478.42 grammes of cocaine. The market value of all the drugs at the time found was approximately $640,000.
The defendant who is now aged 41, has one previous conviction for possession of offensive weapon in a public place dated back to 1991, for which he was fined $1,000.
By way of mitigation, I was told that that the defendant had engaged in various jobs after graduating from secondary school. He owned a computer shop and when that company closed down, he owed a debt which led him to commit the present offences. The defendant also told me in his handwritten letter of mitigation that having been incarcerated since his arrest, he had reflected on his own wrong doing and felt extremely remorseful. He urged the court to treat him as leniently as possible and asked for a second chance to rehabilitate himself.
In sentencing drug related offences, very little credit is given by the courts to factors other than a defendant’s guilty plea. The tariff is one based on the weight of the narcotics. I have taken into account all that could have been said by his counsel, his guilty plea and all the letters in mitigation.
The total narcotics in the present case was 494.33 grammes. For trafficking in cocaine between 400 to 600 grammes, the tariff is one between 15 to 20 years.
In relation to all the drugs found in the present case, I adopt a starting point of 17½ years' imprisonment. I shall give him the full one-third discount for his plea. There is nothing else in this case which warrants a further discount.
He is sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in respect of both charges and they are split up as follows; Charge 1, 3½ years; Charge 2, 11 years and 8 months to run concurrently.