COURT: Ms Cardozo, on 21 December of last year, you pleaded guilty before the Eastern Magistracy to one count of trafficking in dangerous drugs, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap 134. And you accepted that you arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport on 30 December of the previous year, 2019, from Buenos Aires, by Amsterdam, with 2,561 grammes of cocaine, secreted within three cans of what was alleged to be Nutrilon, which I imagine is a baby formula, and which were found inside the suitcase which you had checked in as your luggage.
You have already heard the street value of that cocaine here in Hong Kong in December 2019. It was $3,163,204. That is a huge amount, unfortunately, Ms Cardozo.
The Summary of Facts has been read out again today and you have agreed that they form the basis of your plea, and therefore you stand formally convicted of this charge.
Under interview, you said that you received the suitcase from somebody called Luis. We have heard about Luis from the Summary of Facts. And you said it was already sealed, wrapped with plastic wrapping. And it was Luis who persuaded you to carry the drugs into Hong Kong, arranged your travel, arranged your accommodation and gave you US$1,200, which I imagine to you would have been a huge amount of money, even though you denied this was a reward for bringing the drugs into Hong Kong.
You are a citizen of Paraguay but I note you lived in Buenos Aires for the greater part of your life, certainly since 1999. And you are now 32 years of age. Obviously, you are of clear record. And I also note you had education just up to secondary level and lived with your mother and your son. Prior to your arrest, you had been employed. You were a factory worker earning, as Ms Chit said, between 4,500 to 5,500 pesos per month, which is about HK$500 to HK$600. Although I am sure the cost of living in Buenos Aires is significantly less than the cost of living here, that was a humble salary.
Mr Marray, on your behalf, has done all he can in circumstances like this. I know that he would have explained to you that the importation of dangerous drugs is a very serious matter. I also know that he would have explained to you that you are exceptionally lucky in fact to have been importing those drugs into a jurisdiction like Hong Kong rather than a jurisdiction such as Malaysia or Indonesia, where what would have happened to you would have been significantly different.
He tells me you are remorseful. Ms Cardozo, I am sure you are remorseful. This is a heavy price to pay for what you decided to do. It was a risk you knowingly took. But the courts have to consider the effect of somebody who traffics in dangerous drugs, the effect upon children, even like your own son who learned to become addicted to them. And that is why the courts in Hong Kong include a deterrent element for trafficking and there is little the court can do about that. I note you are remorse but that remorse is covered in the one-third discount that you will inevitably receive because of your plea at the very first opportunity, and I commend you for that.
The guideline case for trafficking between 1,200 and 4,000 grammes of cocaine is HKSAR v Abdallah [2009] 2 HKLRD 437. And the range of sentence available there is 23 to 26 years. So the appropriate starting point if you had had a trial would have been 24 years and 6 months. But unfortunately for you and in this case, there is also the aggravating feature, which is that you imported these drugs into Hong Kong from Buenos Aires. And according to the Court of Appeal in Abdallah, for amounts over a kilogramme, the enhancement should not be less than 2 years. And as this was just over 2½ kilogrammes, in all the circumstances of this case, I will enhance that sentence by 2 years to 26 years and 6 months.
Taking into account everything that can be said on your behalf by Mr Marray, there are, unfortunately, is not any other mitigation that will reduce that sentence under one I must pass now. You are, of course, entitled to a full one-third discount for your guilty plea, Ms Cardozo, but you must go to prison for 17 years and 8 months.