Director of Public Prosecutions v Orlov (a pseudonym)

[2025] VCC 822

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

MARK ORLOV (A PSEUDONYM)

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE DAVIS
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	6 June 2025
DATE OF SENTENCE:	24 June 2025
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v Orlov (a pseudonym)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2025] VCC 822

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW

Catchwords:              Plea of guilty – indictment C2316125.2: theft (7 charges); damaging an emergency service vehicle (1 charge); criminal damage (1 charge) – indictment P12199586.1: attempted possession of drug of dependence (1 charge); attempted possession of precursor chemical (1 charge); theft (1 charge); possession of a drug of dependence (1 charge)

Legislation Cited:      Crimes Act 1958; Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981; Sentencing Act 1991

Sentence:                  Total effective sentence of 4 years and 2 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 years and 9 months’ imprisonment

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Mr T Crouch	Office of Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr T Danos	Emma Turnbull Lawyers

HER HONOUR:

1Mark Orlov, on Indictment No P12199586.1 (“the drug indictment”), you have pleaded guilty to four charges. Charge 1 is a charge of attempted possession of drug of dependence – in this case 1,4 Butanediol – contrary to section 73(1) of the Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (“the Act”). Charge 2 is a charge of attempted possession of precursor chemical – Methylamine – contrary to section 71D of the Act, for which the maximum penalty is 2 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of no more than 240 penalty units.[1] Charge 3 is a charge of theft of an aluminium boat and trailer worth $4,000 on 5 December 2022, contrary to section 74(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, for which the maximum penalty is 10 years’ imprisonment. Charge 4 is a charge of possession of a drug of dependence – in this case a small quantity of Methylamphetamine found on you in a plastic snap lock bag at the time of your arrest, contrary to section 73(1) of the Act. The maximum penalty for this offence is a fine of 5 penalty units.

[1] See ss 71D Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 and s321P of the Crimes Act 1958.

2In relation to charge 1, your counsel submitted that you acted merely as a courier and relied on the definition of “traffick” in section 70 of the Act to include, at sub-section (c) “…or have in possession for sale, a drug of dependence.” He submitted that there was no evidence that your conduct involved possession for sale, and so section 73(1)(b) of the Act applies to limit the maximum penalty for charge 1, to that of 1 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of 30 penalty units.

3The prosecution submitted that section 73(1)(b) of that Act is not made out, because of the surrounding circumstances – including that you arranged the rental of a van with a consignment containing drugs, paid for storage of the consignment, moved the consignment to various places and stacked the boxes. For this reason, it was submitted, your conduct fell within the terms of an offence committed “for any purpose related to trafficking in that drug of dependence” and the maximum penalty provided by that section has no application.

4I reject your counsel’s submission in this regard. I consider that your conduct clearly falls within the terms “any purpose relating to trafficking” in 73(1)(b) of the Act. For this reason, I consider that section 73(1)(b) of the Act does not apply. This means that section 73(1)(c) applies and the maximum penalty for charge 1 on this indictment is level 6 imprisonment (5 years’ maximum) or 400 penalty units, or both.

5On Indictment No C2316125.2 (“the caravan indictment”), you have pleaded guilty to seven charges of theft contrary to section 74(1) of the Crimes Act1958 for which the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment; one charge of damaging an emergency service vehicle contrary to section 317AG(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, for which the maximum penalty is 5 years’ imprisonment; and one charge of criminal damage contrary to section 197(1) of the Crimes Act 1958, for which the maximum penalty in 10 years’ imprisonment.

6I note that your co-accused on the caravan indictment, Donovan Petrovic (a pseudonym), has pleaded guilty to three different charges and been sentenced this day by me.

Circumstances of Offending

7The details of your offending have been described in detail in the Summary of Prosecution Opening in relation to both indictments and I sentence you on the basis of the facts set out in that document. I will summarise the offending briefly.

The Drug Indictment

8In October 2022 a consignment consisting of 1 pallet of 21 boxes containing 16.7 kg of 1,4 Butanediol and 241.8 kg of a precursor chemical, Methylamine, was detected by Australian Border Force in Melbourne. The consignment was addressed to Wong Chu Guan in Auburn, New South Wales.

9Victorian and New South Wales police collaborated to substitute the consignment on 30 November 2023 with an inert substance and repackaged it along with two listening devices. The substituted consignment was delivered to a Freight Forwarding Company, and then by another company to the Ezytransit Pty Ltd depot in Sunshine West on 7 November 2022.

10Charges 1 and 2 concern your conduct in late November and early December 2022. You arranged for your mother to rent a van for you, which she did on 30 November 2022. On 2 December, you attended the Ezytransit depot, signed for and collected the consignment which you believed contained the drugs (thereby attempting to possess the drugs), and drove the consignment to an address in Thomastown, where it remained in the van until 4 December when you moved the van containing the consignment to an address in Sunshine.  

11The prosecution conceded that it cannot prove you knew the specific quantity of the drugs and precursor chemical which you attempted to possess.  

12Charge 3 on the drug indictment concerns the theft of an aluminium trailer containing an aluminium boat on 5 December 2022. You gained access to the front yard of a property in Thomastown which housed the boat and trailer behind a cyclone fence and was secured by a padlocked front gate. You were identified by mapping information attached to a Budget rental van which revealed you travelling from your residence on 5 December 2022 to the property in question and eventually back to your residential address.

13Charge 4 on the drug indictment concerns a small quantity of Methylamphetamine located on you when you were searched by police after your arrest.

The Caravan Indictment

14Charge 1 on the caravan indictment concerns the theft of a caravan valued at $100,000 (as well as items in the caravan worth about $4,400, including three camping chairs worth $120.00) on 20 February 2023 from a property in Epping. Only the camping chairs have been recovered, from the home of your co-accused. The incident was captured on CCTV.

15Charge 2 concerns the theft of a caravan worth $55,000 from another property in Epping, which has not been recovered. The incident was captured on CCTV.

16Charge 4 concerns the theft of a Nissan Navara utility (“the Navara”) valued at $15,000, along with power tools valued at between $16,000 to $17,000 from a property in Brunswick East on 27 February 2023. The Navara was recovered later by police but the power tools were not recovered.

17Charge 5 concerns the theft of a caravan valued at $84,000 and two batteries worth about $700 from a third property in Epping on 27 February 2023. CCTV captured the incident. The caravan was recovered by police but not the batteries.

18Charge 6 concerns the theft of a dark grey flatbed trailer valued at $6,000 from a property in Thomastown on 7 March 2023. You forced open the industrial gate to enter the premises, causing damage worth $676.78. This is the subject of charge 10. CCTV footage early on 10 March 2023 shows you reversing that trailer into a factory in Sunshine North. The trailer has not been recovered.

19Charge 7 concerns the theft of a caravan valued at $80,000 on 11 March 2023 from another property in Thomastown. CCTV footage captures the Navara with the stolen caravan attached travelling to an address in Mickleham, and then travelling from Mickleham without the caravan.

20Charge 8 concerns the theft of a Toyota Corolla valued at $24,800 from St Kilda East on 27 March 2023 and contents valued at about $258.00. The car was recovered by police at the home of an accomplice where you were staying, on 30 March 2023. You had the keys to the car.

21Charge 9 concerns your conduct on 29 March 2023 at a vacant lot at 70 Lipton Drive, Thomastown. From an unmarked police car, two police members saw you and your accomplice standing next to a caravan which had been stolen earlier that morning from Crusader Caravans. CCTV footage from Crusader Caravans had shown you hitching the caravan to the Navara (uncharged act) and driving to Lipton Drive. The police officer drove into the vacant lot, blocking the gateway, activated the blue and red lights, identified themselves as police and ordered you to stop. You and your accomplice returned to the Navara, and you drove it, accelerating quickly and colliding with the police car, in order to force your way out of the lot. The collision caused damage to the police vehicle. CCTV footage captures the Navara leaving the scene of the incident. 

22You and your accomplice were arrested at his home on 30 March 2023. Police located and seized various stolen items from search warrants executed at a number of premises across Melbourne. You were taken to a police station but were deemed unfit for interview.

Resolution

23You pleaded guilty to the charges on the caravan indictment on 15 November 2024 before Her Honour Judge Ellis. The matters on the drug indictment resolved prior to a trial commencing in February 2025 and you pleaded guilty to these charges at the plea hearing on 6 June 2025.

24You have been in custody on these matters since 30 March 2023 but some of your pre-sentence detention relates to other matters. As such, the agreed pre-sentence detention for this matter is 161 days. Whilst in custody, you have completed a 15-hour drug rehabilitation program. You have been training as a Peer Listener at Marngoneet since March 2025.

Criminal history

25You have a lengthy criminal history since 2002 for drug possession, driving, weapons and dishonesty offences as well as offences of violence, and for disregarding Court orders. You have served 12 terms of imprisonment. The last of these saw you released on 14 December 2021.[2]

[2] This is not treated as a prior conviction because the conduct involved occurred in 2020.

Personal circumstances

26Your personal circumstances were set out in the psychological report of Gina Cidoni dated 21 February 2025. The report addressed only the offences on the caravan indictment.

27You told her you were raised in a strict household by loving parents. You started abusing drugs and offending after being sexually abused by a priest at the age of 12. You were a talented soccer player but were expelled from school in Year 9 for truancy. You started drinking and going out late and then quit soccer. You trained as a cabinet maker.

28You married at the age of 21 but did not disclose the sexual abuse to your wife. You had a transport business but gambled and abused drugs which led to the collapse of the business and the breakdown of the marriage in 2006. You repeatedly offended and were in and out of prison over the next 15 years. You found prison to be a familiar, structured environment in which you were comfortable. You could not manage in the community because you had no home, job, money and no support. Over the years, your doctors have prescribed anti-depressants for your depression, anxiety, paranoia and emotional dysregulation, but you stopped taking them because you felt they were not helping and were causing you to gain weight.

29You were seriously assaulted in 2022 and suffered a traumatic brain injury which was inadequately assessed or treated in prison but which you consider has affected your short-term memory and made you paranoid. Your mental health in custody is stable and you feel settled.

30You told Ms Cidoni that at the time of the offending you were homeless, abusing drugs and “stealing caravans to sleep in and doing whatever was necessary to survive”.[3] 

[3] Psychological report of Gina Cidoni dated 21 February 2025 [16].

31You told her you realised how your repeated offending has destroyed your marriage and you that you were upset to have not known that you have two children, aged 11 and 7. You told her that you want to change, and have been trying to focus on self-improvement in custody by avoiding conflict with other prisoners.

32Ms Cidoni performed psychometric testing which confirmed notable impairments in memory which significantly affect your decision-making and ability to manage complex situations. She attributed these deficits to long-term drug abuse and the brain injury you sustained during the assault. She diagnosed you with Stimulant Use Disorder and Gambling Disorder, both of which are in sustained remission in prison. She also diagnosed you as suffering from PTSD. She concluded that your risk of reoffending is high because of your untreated PTSD, unresolved trauma, cognitive deficits, paranoia, emotional dysregulation and difficulty navigating life outside prison. You will need support and appropriate psychological treatment in order to engage in rehabilitation programs and to avoid relapses into drug abuse, gambling and reoffending.

Submissions

33The prosecution submitted that the only appropriate disposition comprises the imposition of a term of imprisonment comprising a head sentence and non-parole period.

34Your counsel emphasised the matters raised in Ms Cidoni’s report, in particular the need to avoid institutionalisation and to receive appropriate treatment for your emotional issues. He noted that your parents are supportive of you, and that you have engaged in a rehabilitation program in prison. He submitted that a lengthy period on parole would be needed to ensure you were able to manage the transition to life in the community.

Sentencing considerations

35Overall, your offending is serious. Across the two indictments and 12 separate occasions between 2 December 2022 and 30 March 2023 you have stolen caravans, trailers, cars and other property worth nearly $380,000 and also damaged property and committed several drug offences. It appears that only property valued in total at around one-third of that sum has been recovered. This conduct has occurred against a background of multiple prior convictions since 2008 for dishonesty offences, some of them committed in disregard of court orders.  

36While your history of drug offending is substantial, most of that offending appears to have been confined to drug possession offences which were dealt with in the Magistrates’ Court. The offending the subject of the drug indictment represents a significant escalation in the type of drug offending you have engaged in. Even though it is common ground that you did not know the quantity of the drugs of dependence that were in the consignment, a consignment of 21 boxes is significant in volume. You arranged for the rental of the van to collect that consignment, signed for that consignment at the depot, and drove that consignment to two different addresses in two days.

37In the circumstances of this case, denunciation, just punishment, specific and general deterrence as well as protection of the community are the principal sentencing considerations.

38I note that Ms Cidoni considered that you are at high risk of reoffending unless you receive treatment for your gambling and substance abuse issues along with your PTSD. That opinion, combined with your history of repeated offending, lead me to consider that your prospects for rehabilitation are very guarded indeed.

39In sentencing you, I take into account the utilitarian value of your plea of guilty in avoiding the expense and inconvenience of a trial. Although you expressed regret for your offending to Ms Cidoni because of the impact it has had on your marriage and your life, you did not express any remorse for the stress, inconvenience or financial losses suffered by the property owners in relation to the property not recovered.

40In all the circumstances, I consider that the only appropriate penalty is the imposition of a term of imprisonment with a non-parole period. In considering the length of this sentence, I have given consideration to the principles of parsimony and totality.

41I consider it appropriate to impose an aggregate sentence in respect of charges 1 and 2 on the drug indictment. I will impose a separate sentence for charges 3 and 4 on the drug indictment.

42I consider it appropriate to impose an aggregate sentence in respect of the offences comprising theft, that is charges 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 on the caravan indictment.

43I will impose separate sentences for charges 9 and 10 on the caravan indictment.

44Given the different periods and nature of offending as between the two indictments, I propose to impose some cumulation

Sentence

45On charges 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 on of the caravan indictment C2316125.2, you are sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment.

46On each of charges 9 and 10 of the caravan indictment, you are sentenced to 3 months’ imprisonment. Two months of the sentence imposed on charge 9 is to be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed on charges 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of that indictment.

47On charges 1 and 2 of the drug indictment P12199586.1, you are sentenced to an aggregate sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment.

48On charge 3 on the drug indictment, you are sentenced to 3 months’ imprisonment. One month of this sentence is to be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed on charges 1 and 2 of this indictment.

49On charge 4 of the drug indictment, you are sentenced to one months’ imprisonment to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed on charges 1 and 2 of this indictment.

50I direct that 12 months of the sentence imposed on charges 1 and 2 be served cumulatively upon the sentence imposed in respect of the caravan indictment.

51The total effective sentence is 4 years and 2 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 years and 9 months.

52I declare that there are 161 days of pre-sentence detention, not including today, which are to be deducted administratively from this sentence.

53I declare pursuant to section 6AAA of the Sentencing Act1991 that, but for your plea of guilty, I would have imposed a total effective sentence of 5 years and 8 months’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 3 years and 8 months.

54I also make the disposal order sought by the Crown.