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HCCC44/2011
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO. 44 OF 2011
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HKSAR |
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v. |
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Aninwonye Emmanuel Chukwuemeka |
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Before: |
The Honourable Mr Justice Line |
Date: |
7 April 2011 at 10.01 am |
Present: |
Mr P J Power, Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR
Mr Antony Michael Delaney, instructed by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Accused |
Offence: |
Trafficking in a dangerous drug (販運危險藥物) |
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Transcript of the Audio Recording
of the Sentence in the above Case
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COURT: I have to sentence you for trafficking in dangerous drugs. The drug was cocaine and you carried 660 grammes of it. You brought it into Hong Kong, having come from Nigeria, via Doha. You had swallowed pellets of the drug and expelled 67 containing the total of nearly a kilogramme but the active ingredient being 660 grammes.
It will have been explained to you that sentencing for drug‑trafficking in Hong Kong follows guidelines. The guideline sentence for your case provides a sentence that starts at 20 years after trial. It is also the case that the international element attracts an aggravation and the aggravation in your case I shall put at 1 year. That means the starting point I take, after trial, is one of 21 years’ imprisonment.
However, you pleaded guilty. That earns you a one-third discount. Accordingly, the sentence I pass upon you for drug-trafficking is one of 14 years’ imprisonment. I have taken into account all your counsel has said but you will appreciate that the guidelines can only be departed from in exceptional circumstances and no exceptional circumstances exist in your case.
I have kept your sentence at the bottom end of the bracket deliberately and that reflects my acceptance of what is asserted on your behalf, namely, that you were only a courier or a mule of these drugs, acting out of financial need on a promise of modest remuneration. However, in the circumstances, such is the gravity of trafficking in dangerous drugs, the sentence will be no less than 14 years.
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