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HCCC 182/2014
IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE
HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION
COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
CRIMINAL CASE NO 182 OF 2014
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HKSAR |
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RIOS HENAO Jose Leonardo |
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| Before: |
DHCJ Stuart-Moore |
| Date: |
14 July 2014 at 9.57 am |
| Present: |
Mr Cheung Man-kwan, SPP of the Department of Justice, for HKSAR |
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Mr Christopher Grounds, instructed by Haldanes, assigned 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: On 25 April 2014, the defendant, who is now aged 30 and who comes from Columbia, pleaded guilty to trafficking in a quantity of powder containing 600 grammes of cocaine and a solid which contained a further 260 grammes of cocaine. That large quantity of cocaine was accompanied by some 115 tablets containing a small quantity of methamphetamine and other small quantities of drugs were also in the defendant’s possession.
This is an example of a highly efficient Customs’ search of a vehicle and the contents inside it. The vehicle was a seven-seater car in which the defendant was the sole passenger and it was about to pass through the Shenzhen Bay Control Point from Hong Kong. The driver of the vehicle was a blameless professional driver.
The two large amounts of cocaine, amounting in total to 860 grammes, were found inside an amplifier for a hi-fi system which was, in turn, inside a box. The defendant said nothing following his arrest. The street value of these drugs, all of them, in the possession of the defendant was just over $1,219,000.
Following the guidelines in R v Lau Tak Ming [1990] 2 HKLR 370, as applied in AG v Pedro Nel Rojas [1994] 1 HKC 342, a proper starting point in my opinion for this quantity of cocaine is 21 years’ imprisonment, enhanced by a further year for the element of cross-border trafficking.
I shall give you full credit for your plea of guilty and so your prison sentence will be one of 14 years and 8 months.
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