R v Dennis Estevez

[2017] NSWDC 433

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	R v Dennis ESTEVEZ [2017] NSWDC 433
Hearing dates:	31 October 2017
Date of orders:	31 October 2017
Decision date:	31 October 2017
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Tupman DCJ
Decision:	Non-parole period of 6 years; Parole thereafter of 3 years; Overall term of 9 years imprisonment
Catchwords:	CRIMINAL LAW – Sentence – Import commercial quantity of border controlled drug – 2,539.3 grams – Cocaine – wholesale value of $761,420 – Street value $2,000,000.00 – Citizen of the United States - No criminal convictions in Australia – Bail refused from time of arrest – Drug user – Courier with specific knowledge – Financial reward – Drug debt – Below midrange objective seriousness for offences charged under this section – General deterrence – Early plea of guilty – assistance to authorities after arrest – 30% to 35% discount
Legislation Cited:	Criminal Code 1995 (s 307.1(1)) Crimes Act 1914 (Part 1B, s 16A)
Cases Cited:	R v Wong; R v Leung (1999) 49 NSWLR 340
Category:	Sentence
Parties:	The Crown Dennis Estevez
Representation:	Ms Duchen (DPP)   Ms Westgarth (F/W Dennis Estevez)
File Number(s):	2016/337261

Judgment

1. The offender is before the Court following his plea of guilty in the Local Court to a charge that on 10 November 2016 he imported a commercial quantity, namely 2,539.3 grams, of the border controlled drug, cocaine, into Australia. This is a charge contrary to s 307.1 (1) of the Criminal Code 1995 which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and or a fine. A fine would not be an appropriate outcome for this offence.

2. The facts are before the Court as an agreed statement of facts. From those I accept that the offender is a citizen of the United States, holding an American passport. He was born on 23 June 1992 and is thus 25 and was 24 at the time of the offence. He arrived at Sydney Airport on a flight from Santiago in Chile on 10 November 2016 on a tourist visa. On his incoming passenger card he declared his usual occupation as ‘DJ promotion’, that he intended to stay in Australia for six days on a holiday and that he was not bringing any prohibited substance, including illicit drugs, into Australia.

3. At about 6.45pm he was escorted to a barrier in the passenger terminal by Customs authorities after he had gone through immigration. He was asked some questions about his travel to Sydney and other matters. He told the officer that he lived in New York, that he had packed his own luggage, that he had gone to his brother’s wedding in Brazil for two days before coming to Australia via Santiago and that he was intending to promote his DJ business in Sydney, but did not know anyone in Sydney apart from a girl who he had chatted to on Facebook.

4. The authorities X-rayed his suitcase and noticed anomalies. They conducted a presumptive test on the back of the suitcase which returned a positive result…