CRIMINAL CASE NO. 8 OF 2011
COURT: The defendant has pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug, namely, 4.06 kilograms of powder containing 3.36 kilograms of cocaine.
The defendant is now 39 years old and came to Hong Kong on 5 June 2010. In his suitcase was found the drug which is the subject matter of the present charge. Under caution, the defendant admitted that he had bought the cocaine in Benin and packed the drug in the concealed compartment of his suitcase. He was going to sell these drugs in Hong Kong.
In a written record of interview, the defendant said that he bought the cocaine at the price of 2.5 million francs of his local currency. The dangerous drug’s estimated retail value in Hong Kong is in the region of $3,893,540.
As Mr Hemmings correctly pointed out, for drug trafficking cases in this large amount, there is hardly any mitigation in the background of the defendant that would cause a court to reduce the sentence. The courts do recognise, however, that, as Mr Hemmings pointed out, naïve and desperate people are often used by drug traffickers to run the risk for them. These are sad and tragic tales that we hear time and time again of people who bring drugs into Hong Kong.
Hong Kong has a very, very bad drug problem and no matter how much the authorities in Hong Kong do, we are constantly facing a losing battle against these drug traffickers. Therefore, heavy sentences have to be imposed to dissuade people from making easy money by bringing drugs into Hong Kong. The court has sympathy with the family the Defendant has left behind but he knew the risk he was running when he agreed to bring these drugs here.
The court in 1994 in the case of Pedro Nel Rojas, has said that sentencing for cocaine should follow the guidelines laid down for sentencing of heroin. In the recent case of HKSAR v Abdallah, the Court of Appeal has laid down guidelines for trafficking in heroin of amounts between 1,200 grammes and 4,000 grammes and they said it should call for a sentence of 23 to 26 years.
The amount of drug in the possession of the defendant calls for a starting point of between 24 to 25 years. So taking into account all the circumstances, I consider a starting point of 24 years to be appropriate, and giving the defendant the usual one-third discount for his plea, he is sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment.