R v Chiagozie

[2018] NSWDC 298

District Court

New South Wales

• Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Chiagozie [2018] NSWDC 298

Hearing dates:

20 April, 28 May 2018

Date of orders:

29 May 2018

Decision date:

29 May 2018

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Neilson DCJ

Decision:

Total sentence 7 years 6 months. NPP 4 years 6 months.

Catchwords:

CRIME – SENTENCE – Commonwealth offences

 

Criminal Code s307.1(1) – importing a commercial quantity of methamphetamine (317.5 grams of pure drug)

Criminal Code s302.3(1) – trafficking a marketable quantity of 2 border-controlled drugs (methamphetamine and cocaine – exact quantity of pure drug unknown)

Legislation Cited:

Crimes Act 1914 (Cth)
Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth)

Cases Cited:

Ruben Botero, (unreported, Court of Criminal Appeal, 24 June 1998)
Xiao v R [2018] NSWCCA 4

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Regina (Crown)
Fabian Ogochukwu Chiagozie (Offender)

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr D Barrow (Crown)
Mr P Kondich (Offender)

  Solicitors:
CDPP (Crown)
George Sten & Co Lawyers (Offender)

File Number(s):

2016/164039

Publication restriction:

Nil

Judgment

1. HIS HONOUR: Fabian Ogochukwu Chiagozie stands for sentence as a consequence of pleading guilty to two substantive offences against the law of the Commonwealth of Australia. The first crime is one contrary to the provisions of s 307.1(1) of the Criminal Code. The offence can be shortly described as importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely, methamphetamine. The maximum penalty for that crime is life imprisonment and/or a fine of 7,500 penalty units. The second offence is one contrary to s 302.3(1) of the Criminal Code and can be described as trafficking a marketable quantity of controlled drugs, namely, methamphetamine and cocaine. The maximum penalty for that offence is 25 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of 5,000 penalty units.

2. The offender was arrested on 27 May 2016 and has been in custody since that time, a period now of two years and two days.

The first offence

3. Unfortunately, as is almost invariable these days, the agreed facts comprise 32 pages containing 117 paragraphs. The first part of the agreed facts is an “executive summary”, but in an attempt to be succinct it does not contain all the necessary information upon which I can pass sentence. The importation offence occurred over a period of 23 days between 12 May 2016 and 3 June 2016. The offender was involved in the importation of five consignments from India, each containing methamphetamine.

4. The first consignment followed upon the offender’s sending an SMS to an Indian telephone number saved in his contacts as “Emeka Bros” giving a name and address for a consignee in New South Wales. On 16 May 2016, four days later, an international consignment was sent from New Delhi in India. The consignee was the same as the details supplied to India by the offender on 12 May 2016 including the address and telephone number. The consignor was said to be Nisha Rani at a complex address in New Delhi. The content of the consignment was described as “Plastic plate”. On 25 May 2016 the Australian Border Force seized…