At about 9 pm on 17 December 2010 the defendant was intercepted by a Customs officer while entering Hong Kong through the airport.
He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a body cavity check. X-ray examination revealed that there were foreign bodies in his rectum. Eventually the defendant excreted 66 pellets containing the drug as set out in the charge.
He admitted that he swallowed the pellets in Bangkok and intended to take them to Chung King Mansion. The pellets were given by a friend. The market price of this quantity of drug was about $670,000.
The defendant was born in Nigeria in 1979. He is 32 years old. He holds a Mali passport. He has a clear record in Hong Kong.
After receiving primary education he moved to Mali. He was a motor car repairer before this incident. He married in the year 2009. His child is nine months old. His wife operated a garment shop.
He came to Hong Kong this time to source garments and motor car spare parts. He was promised a reward of US$1,000 after delivering the drug.
The sentencing tariff in HKSAR V Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370 is applicable. For 243.29 grammes of heroin hydrochloride the sentence should be 12 to 15 years’ imprisonment.
I bear in mind that there is also an international element in the present case, as the heroin was taken from Bangkok to Hong Kong. The starting point should be enhanced to reflect this aggravating factor.
Having considered the amount of heroin hydrochloride, his background and the mitigation, I take 12 years and 8 months’ imprisonment as the starting point. I add six months to reflect the international element in this case.
The final starting point is 13 years and 2 months’ imprisonment. I deduct 4 years and 5 months for his plea. There being no other reason for further reduction, I sentence the defendant to 8 years and 9 months’ imprisonment.