HKSAR v. Barros Correia Daniel Carlos

HCCC 194/2020

[2021] HKCFI 262

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

CRIMINAL CASE NO 194 OF 2020

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

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COURT: Now, the defendant had pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely 910.4 grammes of a solid containing 768.5 grammes of cocaine.

The facts of the case is all too common. The defendant arrived in Hong Kong from Brazil via Addis Ababa and, coming through Customs, three packets of drugs were found in his right sock; another three packets were found in his left sock. And, subsequently, he was taken for medical examination and he discharged a total of 77 packets and all these packets tested positive for cocaine, and the total weight of the cocaine is as stated in the charge.

Under caution, the defendant admitted he was tempted by a friend of his to bring drugs to Hong Kong for a reward of $20,000, Brazilian dollars, and he had not been given the money yet, and he had a mobile telephone with him and the checking of his mobile telephone confirmed in a large sense what he had told the Customs officers under caution.

The street value of the drugs is estimated to be in the region of HK$930,428.

The defendant has a clear record in Hong Kong. He is aged 24. The mitigation as advanced by Ms Mohamed is a very comprehensive one, in that he, really, basically, did not have a comfortable childhood and he got involved with the wrong crowd and he was rebellious and there was tension at home. He has a young child of 8 months old and he was tempted to bring the drugs to Hong Kong because of the money that would give him to support his family. And Ms Mohamed has stressed that whilst in custody he has been enrolling in educational courses and also learning English.

His strongest mitigating factor is really his plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity. It is always sad to sentence a young man away from his home country. However, Hong Kong faces a huge problem every year with people coming into Hong Kong and bringing drugs in. It not only affects the society of Hong Kong, our young people, it also affects our international reputation. And so any personal circumstances really pales into insignificance when compared to the harm these drug trafficking does.

The Court of Appeal, in recognition of the seriousness of the offence, have laid down sentencing guidelines. And, as Ms Mohamed very correctly identified, the case of Abdallah in 2009, the guideline sentence for trafficking in between 600 to 1,200 grammes of drugs will be in the region of between 20 to 23 years. There is here also the aggravating factor of bringing the drugs into Hong Kong.

So, having considered the circumstances of the case, the defendant, his clear record, I will adopt the lower starting point of 20 years. I will add 1 year for importation into Hong Kong, which would be 21 years, and I will give the defendant the full one-third discount and bringing the sentence down to 14 years.

So the defendant will go to prison for 14 years.