Cruzado v The Queen

The applicant, Miguel Garralon Cruzado, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeal. The dispute concerned whether there was sufficient evidence of intention to establish a prima facie case against Mr. Cruzado, who was found to be carrying sealed tins containing cocaine, despite his consistent denial of knowledge of their illicit contents.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether the Court of Criminal Appeal had correctly determined that there was sufficient evidence of intention to make out a prima facie case against the applicant, particularly in light of the decision in *He Kaw Teh*. Further, the court was asked to consider whether the trial had miscarried due to the trial judge's directions to the jury regarding the potential use of lies allegedly told by the applicant. The applicant's counsel indicated that they would only argue one specific ground of appeal, namely ground 7(a).

The applicant's argument was that the tins, which contained heart of palm and preserved figs, were sealed in a normal commercial manner and appeared to be what they purported to be. There was no evidence that Mr. Cruzado had been involved in sealing the tins, had opened them, or had been informed of their true contents. He claimed to have been asked by a young woman in Rio de Janeiro to carry the tins to Australia as a favour, and that he had not questioned their contents. Despite a no-case submission at trial and no request for redirection, the applicant contended that a miscarriage of justice had occurred, and that the absence of a formal application at trial should not prevent his appeal.