CRIMINAL CASE NO. 276 OF 2011
COURT: The defendant pleads guilty to two charges of trafficking in a dangerous drug, contrary to section 4(1)(a) and (3) of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 134.
The defendant was intercepted by police officers in Mong Kok and found to have with him 7.64 grammes of a mixture containing 4.98 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.
Under caution, he admitted that he was delivering the drugs on behalf of others.
A further search of his residence upstairs revealed 19.43 grammes of a solid containing 13.02 grammes of cocaine and 73.36 grammes of mixtures containing 48.99 grammes of heroin hydrochloride.
Drug packaging paraphernalia - that is, resealable plastic bags, an electronic scale and a pair of scissors - were also found.
The market value of the heroin was about $58,000, whilst for the cocaine, $23,000.
The defendant claimed to have picked up the drugs from a flower bed and acted on instructions to pack the drugs to deliver to customers.
The defendant is now aged 48. He has 14 previous convictions, four of which are drugs related. For an offence of trafficking in dangerous drugs on 20 June 2007, he was sentenced to 3 years and 8 months’ imprisonment. His last conviction was back in 2009, for an offence of theft for which he received a sentence of 14 days’ imprisonment.
By way of mitigation, I am told that the defendant is married. He has a son aged 17 and a daughter aged 12, both still studying. At the time of the arrest, he claimed to be unemployed, and his father just passed away, and therefore he was in financial difficulty which caused him to commit the present offences for quick money.
In sentencing the defendant, I have considered his guilty plea, mitigation forwarded by counsel on his behalf, and the existing tariff for trafficking in heroin and cocaine. For the purpose of sentencing, the same tariff applies to the two drugs.
For narcotics between 50 to 200 grammes, the tariff is one between 8 to 12 years’ imprisonment.
The total amount of heroin and cocaine involved in the two charges is 66.99 grammes.
I adopt a global starting point of 8½ years’ imprisonment. I shall give him the full one-third discount for his plea.
He is sentenced to 68 months’ imprisonment for the two charges, apportioned as follows:
Charge 1, 16 months’ imprisonment;
Charge 2, 68 months’ imprisonment, to run concurrently.