R v El-Achi

[2020] NSWDC 654

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

R v El-Achi [2020] NSWDC 654

Hearing dates:

15 October 2020

Decision date:

30 October 2020

Jurisdiction:

Criminal

Before:

Mahony SC DCJ

Decision:

Community correction order imposed. For orders see [61]

Catchwords:

Ongoing supply of prohibited drugs; deal with proceeds of crime

Legislation Cited:

Confiscation of Proceeds of Crime Act 1989

Crimes Act 1900

Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999

Criminal Procedure Act 1986

Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985

Cases Cited:

Cullen v R [2014] NSWCCA 162

Hanna v R [2015] NSWCCA 326

Kennedy v R [2020] NSWCCA 49

Parente v R [2017] NSWCCA 284

R v CBK (2002) 135 ACrimR 260

R v Fangaloka [2019] NSWCCA 173

Category:

Sentence

Parties:

Director of Public Prosecutions (Crown)
Elia Jean El-Achi (Offender)

Representation:

Counsel:
Mr A Bellanto QC

Solicitors:
Ms L Hawke (Crown)

File Number(s):

20/1948

Publication restriction:

Nil

remarks on sentence

1. The offender is to be sentenced in respect of two offences to which he has entered pleas of guilty as follows:

1. Sequence 7 - Ongoing supply of prohibited drug (cocaine), pursuant to s 25A of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (“DMTA”). The maximum penalty proscribed is 20 years imprisonment, and there is no Standard Non‑Parole Period.

2. Sequence 9 - Property suspected of being proceeds of crime, pursuant to s 193C(2) of the Crimes Act 1900. The maximum penalty proscribed for that offence is 3 years imprisonment.

There is a related offence (Sequence 8) of possess prohibited drug, pursuant to s 10(1) of the DMTA on a Certificate pursuant to s 166 of the Criminal Procedure Act 1986.

The sentence hearing

2. The sentence hearing took place on 15 October 2020. The Crown Sentence Summary became Ex A. It included an Agreed Statement of Facts which may be summarised as follows.

3. The offender was born on 10 March 1956 and was 63 years of age at the time of the offences. Between 19 November 2019 and 12 December 2019, the offender supplied cocaine on six separate occasions to a police registered source (“RS”) as part of a controlled operation as follows:

1. 19 November 2019 – 0.98 grams of cocaine for $400 (purity of 60.5%);

2. 20 November 2019 – 0.88 grams of cocaine for $350 (purity of 50%);

3. 25 November 2019 – 0.95 grams of cocaine for $350 (purity of 59%);

4. 26 November 2019 – 0.48 grams of cocaine for $200 (purity of 54.5%);

5. 5 December 2019 – 0.44 grams of cocaine for $200 (purity of 60%); and

6. 12 December 2019 – 0.94 grams of cocaine for $350 (purity of 57.5%).

4. Over a period of 24 days, the offender supplied 4.67 grams of cocaine for a financial reward of $1,850.00. The Agreed Facts outline in detail the supply which occurred on each occasion. It is unnecessary to set out all of that detail, however, on 19 November 2019, the RS called the offender’s mobile phone and agreed to meet him on Regent Street, Waterloo, to facilitate a drug transaction.…