R v Dries

[2020] NSWDC 872

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v Dries [2020] NSWDC 872

Hearing dates:

12 November 2020

Date of orders:

26 November 2020

Decision date:

26 November 2020

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Buscombe DCJ

Decision:

Overall sentence imposed one of 10 years and 6 months with a non-parole period of 6 years and 6 months

Catchwords:

CRIME — Drug offences — Commonwealth offences — Pre-traffic precursors

CRIME — Conveying offences —Tobacco —Intent to defraud Revenue

CRIME — Firearms offences — State offences — Use/Possess prohibited pistol/firearm

Legislation Cited:

Firearms Act 1996 (NSW) s 7(1)

Commonwealth Crimes Act 1999 (NSW) Part 1B s 16A

Commonwealth Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) s 307.11

Customs Act 1901 (Cth) s 233BABAB(2)

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1996 (NSW) s 3A

Cases Cited:

Giorgianni v The Queen (1985) 156 CLR 473; [1985] HCA 29

GAS v The Queen (2004) 217 CLR 198; [2004] HCA 22

PG v R [2017] NSWCCA 179

R v Pham [2015] HCA 39

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Bredan Paul Dries (Offender)

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr C Triscari (Crown)
D: Mr S Bucehn S.C. (Offender)

Solicitors:

File Number(s):

2017/193263

Publication restriction:

Nil

SENTENCE

Introduction

1. The offender Mr Dries is to be sentenced in relation to offences contained on two indictments. One indictment contains two offences under Commonwealth law and the other three offences under State law.

Commonwealth indictment

2. The Commonwealth indictment contains the following offences. That between 1 September 2016 and 28 June 2017 at Sydney he aided, abetted, counselled and procured the commission of the offence by Quoc Tran and Geoffrey Acosta against s 307.11 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code, namely that Quoc Tran and Geoffrey Acosta imported a substance, the substance being a border‑controlled precursor, namely 1,310 kilograms of ephedrine and the quantity imported being a commercial quantity applicable to that precursor. That is an offence under s 11.2(1) and s 307.11(1) of the Commonwealth Criminal Code. It has a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment.

3. The second offence on the Commonwealth indictment is an offence that between 1 September 2016 and 28 June 2017 at Sydney the offender conveyed tobacco properties, namely 1.5 million cigarettes knowing that the goods were imported with intent to defraud the Revenue. That is an offence under s 233BABAB(2) of the Customs Act and has a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment. The offender acknowledges his guilt in relation to an offence which is on a schedule under s 16BA of the Commonwealth Crimes Act and asks that I take that offence into account when sentencing him on the count on the indictment brought under the Criminal Code. The offence on the schedule is an offence that between 1 September 2016 and 28 June 2017 at Sydney he dealt with money, namely $405,000 intending it to become an instrument of crime.

State indictment

4. The State indictment contains three counts of possess an unauthorised pistol under s 7(1) of the Firearms Act all of which occurred on…