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R v Alfonso

R v Alfonso

Case [2024] NZHC 1868 10 July 2024

Criminal Liability

Sentencing

Guilty Plea

Disproportionately Severe Imprisonment in New Zealand

Personal Mitigating Features

Criminal Law

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND CHRISTCHURCH REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA ŌTAUTAHI ROHE

CRI-2021-009-8205

[2024] NZHC 1868

THE KING

v

RUTH YANID RAMIREZ ALFONSO

Hearing: 10 July 2024

Appearances:

A M Harvey for Crown

T D A Harre for Defendant

Judgment:

10 July 2024

SENTENCING REMARKS OF MANDER J

Introduction

[1] Ruth Ramirez Alfonso, you appear for sentence in relation to a representative charge of importing a Class A drug, that being cocaine.1

The offending

[2] You agreed with the summary of facts presented by the Crown at the time you pleaded guilty. I will now summarise those facts.

[3] You are now 40. You are from Colombia, born in a small farming town in that country. You arrived here some 10 years ago, on a student visa. For the last two years

1 Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, ss 6(1)(a) and 6(2) and Crimes Act 1961, s 66—maximum penalty life imprisonment.

R v RAMIREZ ALFONSO [2024] NZHC 1868 [10 July 2024]

you have lived in a house that came with your employment on a dairy farm. Many of your co-offenders also held positions on dairy farms in the Selwyn and South Canterbury areas. Your counsel, Mr Harré, submits you were exploited in some of your dairying positions which coincided with your offending. I will address that aspect and your application for a discharge without conviction shortly.

[4] Your offending was discovered as a result of a significant police investigation into the importation of cocaine into this country from South America which involved co-operation with overseas drug enforcement authorities. The drug syndicate operated from at least January 2018 to December 2021 and used farm workers, such as yourself, as “cover”. It is estimated 42.5 kilograms of cocaine with a street price of over
$19 million was imported into New Zealand. A further 59.1 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of more than $26 million was also intercepted.

[5] Between 23 October 2019 and December 2021, you were involved in the importation of three packages into New Zealand. None of those packages were intercepted, so we cannot be certain of the total amount of cocaine they contained, other than that the last shipment comprised 610 grams of cocaine. If similar quantities are assumed for the others, you were involved in the importation of at least
1.8 kilograms of cocaine. Mr Harré accepts that amount for the purpose of sentencing. The circumstances of those importations were as follows.

[6] At some point, either in 2019 or 2020, the syndicate organised for cocaine to be imported into this country on two occasions. A client code application (which is a document needed by Customs for the importation of goods in excess of the value of
$1,000) was forged, using a false name but with your address, by a member of the syndicate on 1 November 2019. You had agreed to receive a parcel on behalf of a person with whom you had become friends. The first consignment of cocaine…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading R v Alfonso

Details

AGLC: R v Alfonso [2024] NZHC 1868
Case: [2024] NZHC 1868
Decision Date: 10 July 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the High Court of New Zealand, Ruth Yanid Ramirez Alfonso was sentenced for her involvement in the importation of cocaine. Alfonso, a Colombian national residing in New Zealand on a visa, had pleaded guilty to a representative charge of importing Class A drugs. The court heard that Alfonso facilitated the importation of cocaine into New Zealand between 2019 and 2021, receiving payments for using her address to receive drug shipments. The court considered the gravity of her offending, her culpability, and the consequences of a conviction, including the risk of deportation.

The legal issues centred on determining the appropriate starting point for sentencing, assessing Alfonso's culpability, and evaluating the proportionality of the consequences of a conviction relative to the gravity of her offending. The court assessed the amount of drugs involved, Alfonso's role in the offending, and mitigating factors such as her guilty plea, personal background, and prospects for rehabilitation. The Crown argued for a significant sentence due to the serious nature of drug trafficking, while the defence sought a lesser sentence, highlighting Alfonso's lesser role and personal vulnerabilities.

The court found that while Alfonso played a lesser role, her involvement was repeated and she was aware of the risk involved. The court adopted a starting point of five years and six months' imprisonment, adjusted for Alfonso's early guilty plea, isolated position, and good character, resulting in a final sentence of three years and six months' imprisonment. The court declined Alfonso's application for a discharge without conviction, finding the risk of deportation and other consequences to be proportionate to the seriousness of her offending.

Orders