R v French

[2011] NSWDC 68

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	R v French [2011] NSWDC 68
Hearing dates:	5 May 2011
Decision date:	05 May 2011
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Before:	Berman SC DCJ
Decision:	The offender is convicted and referred for assessment as to his suitability for an Intensive Correction Order
Catchwords:	CRIMINAL LAW - Sentence hearing - drug supply - possession of drugs - 1-benzyl piperazine - suitability for Intensive Correction Order
Cases Cited:	Clarke v R [2009] NSWCCA 49 - R v Hemsley [2004] NSWCCA 228
Category:	Sentence
Parties:	The Crown Jonathan French
Representation:	Director of Public Prosecutions Legal Aid Commission
File Number(s):	2010/00064362

Judgment

1. HIS HONOUR: Jonathan French was picked up by police with a substantial quantity of drugs in his possession on 12 March 2010. Mr French gave evidence as to the circumstances which led to him being in possession of those drugs. He had two friends, one of whom wanted to sell drugs and another of whom wanted to buy drugs. Mr French did not want to be involved but the purchaser insisted that he become involved because he did not trust anyone he did not know. At first Mr French said that he would not become involved. Eventually he reluctantly did so.

1. He went to Chatswood where he was given a bag of drugs containing about 785 tablets. He thought they were ecstasy but in fact they contained a broadly similar drug, 1-benzyl piperazine. He took possession of the drugs and went to meet the purchaser. As he and the purchaser were walking to where the money was, police, who were conducting patrols in the area, noticed them. The two men appeared to be acting suspiciously, one of them, the friend, was also known to be involved in drug supply activities. Accordingly, the police approached the two men then Mr French, the offender, made a very slight effort to get away before giving up; the friend made a more substantial effort but he was ultimately arrested as well.

1. Police then searched the offender and discovered the bag that I have mentioned. He told police that he had been asked to sell the drugs for $12 or $12.50 each. He was arrested and taken to the police station and remained in custody for 109 days until he was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

1. There is no suggestion that Mr French was involved in any other form of drug supply activity at any other time in his life. He gave evidence that he was a drug user, and I will return to that evidence later, but I need to emphasise that the evidence suggests that this was an isolated occasion on which the offender reluctantly became involved as an intermediary and courier in a significant drug supply transaction.

1. Of course this raises the issue as to whether the offender was trafficking to a substantial degree. For many years the law has been that those who traffic in drugs to a substantial degree should expect to receive a fulltime…