COURT: Defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in dangerous drugs and one count of conspiracy to keep a divan. He is committed to this court for sentence.
In the afternoon on 24 June 2022, police officers found, after gaining entry to an apartment in Mong Kok, 17 individuals, 39.98 grammes of cocaine, 7.21 grammes of heroin, 27.2 grammes of ketamine, 22.48 grammes of methamphetamine hydrochloride, and 0.46 grammes of midazolam, drug paraphernalia and apparatus.
The street value of the drug was estimated to be between HK$70,000 to HK$97,000.
Under caution, the defendant admitted that he was selling drugs and allowing customers to consume drugs in the apartment. In return, he would be given a daily wage of HK$1,600 per day.
The defendant is 49, single, educated up to Form 3 level. Prior to his arrest, he was a casual worker delivering meals for restaurants.
The notional starting point based on quantity alone for trafficking in the abovementioned dangerous drugs would be one of 9 years’ imprisonment. However, in this case, the defendant was not acting simply as a courier. He was effectively running a retail business selling dangerous drugs to customers direct and allowing them to consume drugs there.
The defendant also has 14 criminal convictions involving two similar records, both in trafficking in dangerous drugs and keeping a divan. Given the abovementioned aggravating features or factors, the starting point will be increased to one of 12 years’ imprisonment.
As the defendant has pleaded guilty in the Magistrates’ Court, he is entitled to the full one-third discount. For Count 1, he is therefore sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment. For Count 2, given this is his third conviction relating to keeping a divan, 36 months would be used as a starting point. After a full one-third discount, the sentence is reduced to 24 months.
Given what I have mentioned about Count 1, the sentence on Count 2 is ordered to run concurrently with the sentence imposed on Count 1. For the two offences the defendant stands convicted, he is sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment.