CRIMINAL CASE NO. 249 OF 2011
COURT: On 8 July 2011, the defendant, now aged 40, pleaded guilty to two charges of trafficking in heroin hydrochloride, and he has confirmed those pleas in these proceedings.
The defendant was stopped on 3 December 2010 in possession of a cigarette packet containing six resealable bags which in turn contained 120 packets. On analysis, the mixture in those packets was found to contain 13.3 grammes of heroin hydrochloride (1st charge).
Later, the defendant’s address was searched, and a mixture weighing 461.55 grammes was found to contain 79.51 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.
The estimated value of all the heroin in the defendant’s possession was $339,831.
He stated he had been working for a mainland supplier for $700 each day for about six months.
The total weight of the narcotic content in these charges was 92.81 grammes, which, as Mr Kelly has rightly observed, brings this within a band of 8 to 12 years’ imprisonment, following the guidelines in Lau Tak Ming, and that is for between 50 and 200 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.
An appropriate overall sentence after trial would, in such circumstances, be 9 years’ imprisonment. The defendant has pleaded guilty, and he will receive the full credit for doing so.
Mr So, would you stand, please. On Charge 1, your sentence is 3 years and 4 months’ imprisonment. On Charge 2, your sentence is 5 years and 8 months’ imprisonment. However, only 2 years and 8 months of the sentence on Charge 2 will run consecutively to the sentence on the 1st charge.
So that your sentence in total is one of 6 years’ imprisonment.